A New Life - Part 1 - Land of Magic Series
by Brandon Belisle
Summary: The boy who defied Viking traditions. The boy who became a hero. The boy who became a dragon. How will Hiccup's life unfold itself with his new body? Toothless is definitely taking an interest in the change. Rated M ToothCup
1. Chapter 1 Escape

**-{[S]}-**

Hiccup looked at the waves, seemingly lost in thought. Toothless moved a bit closer to him, nudging him in the side.

"_Oh, hi buddy! I guess I got a little lost again huh?_"

Toothless made a whimpering noise, and nuzzled Hiccup.

"_Hey, don't worry about me. I'm fine, really!_"

How wrong he was…

Now he was laying right before Toothless, his Hiccup, in his bed, barely breathing. Hiccup had gotten some unknown disease, and Toothless could smell the life slowly fading from him. The human healers had checked and rechecked him, but the results were always the same. Nothing! They had no idea what was wrong with him, and were even more confused on what to do about it. The only thing they said was that Hiccup probably wouldn't last the night, but his Hiccup always did.

He was strong, but even now Toothless started to think that Hiccup didn't have much more left to give. Every day his condition worsened, and Toothless could only sit there and watch the disease continue its effect. He felt helpless.

Downstairs he heard chattering, which after awhile grew to shouting. Stoic was obviously upset about something. When the shouting didn't stop, Toothless' anger started to build up.

"_Why can't they keep their mouths shut_" He growled. "_All these noises aren't good for my human_". Toothless looked at Hiccup, then back to the door. The shouting was still going on, getting louder.

Toothless grunted.

"_This place won't help my Hiccup, I need to do something_"

Toothless walked over to the side of the bed and took away the blanket that kept Hiccup warm. He looked down at him. The boy had a grimace on his face, like he was in real pain. Toothless whined softly, and licked Hiccup's face.

"_Just try to hold on a little longer_"he urged silently.

Then with some efforts, Toothless managed to get Hiccup onto his back. Making sure that the boy wouldn't fall off, he made his way to the window. He looked back at the door. Noises were still coming from downstairs.

"_Staying here won't help my human, it will only lead to his death_". A snort escaped Toothless before he leapt out of the window, disappearing into the darkness of the forest.

**-{[S]}-**

Toothless navigated through the forest with ease. The moonlight breaking through the branches made it look like it was still day to him. He kept a slow pace, making sure Hiccup would not fall off from his back. The warmth of Toothless' body would keep Hiccup from freezing, as long as they kept constant body contact. He had already figured out that the cove where Hiccup first had befriended him was not an ideal place to stay. One thing is that it's too near the village. People would surely go look for Hiccup after Stoic found out his son was missing, and sooner or later, they would find the place. Another thing was Astrid already knew of the cove. Toothless huffed by the thought of the blonde. _"The last thing Hiccup need is more abuse from that girl…"_

The number of punches had changed drastically after she saw how bad Hiccup really was, but growls and screeches from Toothless helped as well. He didn't like Astrid. He wouldn't even let her near Hiccup, which left her standing in the doorway each visit. Hiccup was his, and he needed to make that clear. She knew better than to ignore his warnings. A fight against a Night Fury was something even she couldn't win.

Toothless trotted for hours, looking for a suitable place to stay. After getting through some heavy vegetation, he eventually spotted a cave, only five meters away from where he stood. The forest had concealed it quite well, making it almost impossible to find. It was only luck that Toothless discovered it. He looked inside. The cave was about ten meters deep, and had more than enough room for the both of them. Toothless purred to himself, satisfied, and walked inside. He let the sleeping Hiccup slide off his back, carefully so his head didn't bump into the rocky ground. He looked down at his human with sad eyes. His condition hadn't gotten any better, but fortunately not any worse.

So, what now? He had accomplished taking him away from all the annoying noises, but hadn't thought any farther then that. He found himself a comfortable position in the cave, and started to look back in his memories.

Hiccup was like no other Viking he had ever seen. Where everyone else would have killed him out in the forest, Hiccup couldn't. Hiccup saw something in dragons that others didn't. He saw the intelligence in dragons, and he didn't treat them like they were mere animals, but rather as if they were of his own kin. As for Toothless, he was happy to accept that friendship. Toothless might have been a little skeptical at first, but after seeing that Hiccup was no ordinary Viking, every suspicion of him was brushed away like they were dry leaves in an autumn storm. After the event involving the dragon queen, their bond got even stronger. They never left each other, or rather, Toothless would never leave Hiccup. Hiccup didn't seem to mind. He took it as a sign that Toothless cared about him, which he did, maybe more than Hiccup realized.. _"Hiccup likes me as a friend, but, I like to think of our friendship as something…more"_

Suddenly, deep in Toothless' mind, a small bright light appeared. Toothless didn't exactly know what to do or what it was, but nevertheless crawled deeper into his mind, only following his instincts. As he looked deeper, the light got bigger, until the energy flowed everywhere in his body. It boiled inside him, and he felt like it needed to be released. He opened his mouth, and out came something that looked like glowing smoke. Toothless starred at it in wonder. The color of it constantly changed between dark blue and pitch black, and lit up the cave every time it turned blue. It seemed like it had a life of its own! It didn't seem to be effected by the wind, but rather went where it pleased. It was aiming for his human. Hiccup inhaled most of the glowing smoke, while the rest dissipated into nothingness. Toothless didn't know for sure what he had just done or if it would help his Hiccup, but it had left him tired, and his head pounded as if the queen dragon's tail had smashed into it again. So he drew his human closer, sharing his body warmth with him, and fell asleep.


	2. Chapter 2 New Body

Hiccup opened his eyes. His vision was blurry, and the eyes were adjusting to the light. How long had he slept? He felt stiff, hungry, and had a terrible headache, but all things considered he actually felt pretty good.

"My fever's gone!" He realized.

He tried to get himself up, but immediately lost his balance.

"Whoa! What the..." He fell backwards, hitting the ground with a loud *thud*.

This was enough to wake Toothless. He slowly opened his eyes while reaching for his human, but the only thing he could feel was empty space! Alarmed, he quickly got up and looked around. He had been so tired last night, that he hadn't felt Hiccup being moved away from his body. Only a few meters away from him, he could see a black shape. Toothless gave out a loud screech, making the ground quiver.

"What have you done to my Hiccup! ?" He bent down, his muscles tensed, and snarled at the stranger.

Recognizing the sound, Hiccup twisted around to see his friend. The blurry vision was gone, and he could see clearly now. His eyes met Toothless'. It looked like the dragon was about to attack him!

"Toothless, what are you doing! ?" Hiccup felt frightened. He has never seen Toothless this angry before, at least not at him!

Toothless stopped the snarling, confusion clouding his mind and showing in his eyes. He knew that voice, but it was defiantly not coming from the human he had learned to associate it with.

"Hiccup?"

"Yes! Who else do you th…" Hiccup trailed off, his eyes widening in shock as it dawned on him.. "Toothless, I..I can understand you!"

Toothless was just as surprised as Hiccup. His eyes widened, and looked intently at Hiccup. He didn't realize his mouth was hanging open.

"Toothless, why are you looking at me like that?"

"Hiccup, y-you, you're..." Toothless stopped. He couldn't believe what he was looking at.

Hiccup frowned. "I'm what?"

"Y-you, you're a dragon...a Night Fury!"

This left Hiccup speechless. How could he be a dragon? He looked at his hands, and froze. Those...are definitely not hands, but paws!

"I..I...b-but how! ?"

Total confusion overwhelmed Hiccup. He looked at himself, then at his surroundings. How had he become a dragon? Why could he suddenly understand Toothless? And for Thor's sake, why was he in a cave, and not in his bed! ?

Hiccup looked like a newborn dragon trying to take its first steps. He was struggling to get himself up, but was only rewarded by tripping over his own feet. He was definitely not used to his new body.

"Hiccup, just take it easy. Don't stress yourself"

"Where are you going! ?" Hiccup cried out, seeing that Toothless was heading out of the cave.

"Hiccup, you've been sleeping for days! I'm just going to get you something to eat, you must be starving."

At that very moment, a loud grumbling was coming from Hiccup's stomach. After all the confusion, he had totally forgotten how hungry he really was.

"You see?" Toothless said, nudging Hiccup while purring. "Just relax, I won't be gone for long". And with that, Toothless walked out of the cave, leaving Hiccup to ponder about all that had happened.

**-{[S]}-**

Hiccup just stared at the wall, thinking about what could have happened to him while he was asleep.

"So, I've been unconscious for several days, Toothless probably got worried and took me to this cave, leaving my room all empty, and when Stoic comes in….oh, Odin help us! When he sees the room without me in it, he'll probably think Toothless kidnapped me, and form a search party to look for me! They'll hurt Toothless if I go back now, and I surely can't show myself like this! It's probably not safe to return home just yet, not until everything settles down a little."

Then his thoughts wandered over to Astrid. Hiccup started to rub his shoulder with a paw. It had become a habit for him to do that, after being hit by her so many times._"That girl is the definition of pain"_ he thought. She must be quite worried about him now, but that just meant more bruises! But now that he's a Night Fury, things were going to get a little more complicated. He almost smiled when he thought about her trying to hit a Night Fury in the shoulder.

Why was he a dragon in the first place? Hiccup was sure Toothless was responsible for it, and also for getting him all healthy again. No one else in the village could have done such a thing.

He then started to experiment with his body, trying not to trip in the process.

The first difference he noticed, was he had no teeth in his mouth!

"That's just weird"

After experimenting a little, he found out that he had muscles under the teeth that he could use to push them up and down. He played with them a while, and found it rather amusing. He chuckled to himself while repeatedly pushing his teeth up and down.

He then got the feeling of his wings. This entire time they'd been hanging down next to his body, loose, but now he tried to flap them. It felt weird to Hiccup. It was almost like having bones sticking out of your back. Only that these had muscles he could use to move them. Then came the tail. After figuring out how to use it, he found walking much easier, in other words he could actually move, and not trip all the time. He was surprised how much the tail helped him to keep his balance, and when he had practiced a while, he could walk around the cave just fine.

It was at that moment it suddenly hit him. He had four, not three, but FOUR legs! The transformation had actually healed his leg! Tears came streaming down Hiccup's face. No more would he be slower than the others! No more would he feel pain and the itching! And no more would he wake up every morning, feeling the absence of his leg.

He looked around, but found no sign of his prosthetic leg._"It's probably still back at the house"_ he thought.

With not much else left to do, Hiccup found a comfortable position, curled around himself, and waited for Toothless to return.

**-{[S]}-**

"Hiccup is a Night Fury!". Toothless couldn't really believe it himself. He felt delighted as he trotted through the forest. Not only was his Hiccup feeling well again, he has actually become a dragon!

This time of the year was the dragon mating season, much to the Vikings dismay. For them it meant aggressive dragons, and burned down houses. All the dragons were excited…all but Toothless. He felt despaired and alone. He was the only one left of his kin, so what was he to do?

But those thoughts were swept away now. He was no longer alone, there was another Night Fury, and it was his Hiccup! Toothless let out a growl, making nearby birds fly away from their trees in fear. He had a mate!

After some minutes, another thought swirled in past his joy. How would Hiccup react to his decision? He had actually already chosen him back when Hiccup was a human, but he didn't knew how Hiccup would react to it, so he had kept his feelings to himself. Mostly. He would nip him in his tunic from time to time, and was practically clinging on to him everywhere he went, which made Hiccup flush. He had told Toothless to stop this odd behavior, but Toothless had just ignored him. Hiccup would then just sigh, and let his dragon continue whatever he was doing, not realizing what it really meant.

But now that his Hiccup was a dragon, things changed a bit. Still, Toothless thought it was better to not reveal his feelings to Hiccup just yet, he probably already had enough to ponder about. Being transformed into a dragon wasn't something that happened every day!

A while passed before Toothless finally found a lake. It was maybe twice the size of the one in the cove. He could see his meal swimming beneath the liquid surface, oblivious to the danger approaching them. Toothless licked his lips, took aim, and leapt into the water.


	3. Chapter 3 Explanation

Hiccup's ears went straight up when he woke up by some rustling sounds coming from outside the cave. He opened his eyes, revealing Toothless trudging into the cave. He walked up beside Hiccup, and stared down at him. Hiccup answered with a more drowsy stare, and looked a bit confused.

"Something wrong?" Toothless asked.

"I thought you were going to get me food" Hiccup said while stretching himself.

"I have."

"Then where is it?"

"Oh, it's coming up, just wait."

"Eh, up what?"

As an answer, Toothless took a brief moment, then regurgitated three half-eaten cods. He let his gaze fall over to Hiccup again, expectful. Hiccup looked down at his slimy meal, suddenly not feeling so hungry anymore.

"Toothless…that's digested fish, from your stomach…which you've already eaten.."

"So?"

"I'm not eating that! It's disgusting!"

"Hiccup…"

"I've clearly told you before that back in the cove was the very last time I ever would eat re..ohgodsthatsmells SO good!"

Hiccup walked closer to the fish, and inhaled once more. It didn't smell like it used to. The scent of it was so much stronger now, so delicious…and when it touched Hiccup's nostrils, it was like it paralyzed his brain. It felt like nothing else was more important than to have some of that cod. Hiccup looked up at Toothless.

"Did you do something to the fish? It smells so differently, so good."

"No, nothing. A lot must have changed since you've become a dragon. It's only natural for a Night Fury to like fish, regurgitated or not."

"It still looks disgusting."

"It doesn't matter. Go ahead, take a bite!"

Hiccup looked down at the cod, a little skeptical, but forced himself to take a bite. Disgusting or not, the taste was unbelievable good! Heck, it was even better than roasted chicken! He took big chunks in his mouth, and while not realising it, gave out loud purring noises while doing so. Toothless just watched him, seeming satisfied with having him eat the fish. He indeed remembered Hiccup didn't want to eat regurgitated food, but he also knew that he'd maybe act differently after the transformation, which now proved him right.

"_Just look at him now! It's like he has completely forgotten what he said just minutes ago._" He tought.

**-{[S]}-**

Not even a bone was left when Hiccup was finished. He licked his mouth, before turning to Toothless.

"Does cod always taste like this?"

"It has never tasted any different."

"Well, it's so much better now than what it was when I was a human. I'm already starting to like being a dragon! I got my leg back, and now this!" Hiccup said with a smirk.

Toothless returned the smile. It was good that Hiccup was accepting all this so easily. It made him feel better to think that the consequences of his action didn't affect Hiccup that much in the wrong direction. Hiccup had to deal with it anyway, for Toothless had no idea how Hiccup could be turned back to a human, or if he ever would be. Neither did he want him to be human again, he quite liked Hiccup as a dragon.

His thoughts were interrupted by Hiccup.

"Hey, bud! I think now would be a good time for an explanation. I'm in a cave in the middle of nowhere, so I'm kind of oblivion to the whole situation. I need you to tell me all that have happened before…all this." He gestured to himself.

"I've never thought of not telling you" Toothless replied. "Find yourself a comfortable position, it might take a while."

Hiccup walked up to the wall at the end of the cave, and tried to lean his back against it, without much success. Pain immediately started to grow in his spine.

"Hiccup, that looks anything but comfortable."

"For a dragon!" Hiccup snorted, a little irritated. "I was a human just a day ago you know." He got up and curled around himself like he had done before, and waited for Toothless to begin.

Toothless started by telling from the night Hiccup got sick and passed out. He recounted how the healers had failed to find a cure for Hiccup's disease, and how hopeless the situation seemed to be taking. When he got to the part with Astrid, Hiccup stopped him.

"Toothless, It's good that you only were trying to help me, and I'm grateful for it, but don't you think that what you did was being a little overprotective?"

A growl escaped Toothless.

"If the healers couldn't help you, she couldn't either. You needed rest, and having her there wasn't helping it."

It was a dumb answer, Toothless knew it, but telling him that he mostly did it just because he simply didn't like Astrid would surely seemed even dumber to Hiccup.

"It still seemed unnecessary" Hiccup mumbled.

Toothless just let the topic drop, and continued telling him rest of the story.

**-{[S]}-**

It left Hiccup thinking when he finished. "_Toothless did right to take me with him, or else I'd surely be dead by now, but I can't figure out what he did to me. He has never done anything like that before, nor have I seen any dragon do it either._"

Silence filled the cave, and only the blowing wind was keeping it from being completely silent. Toothless shifted a bit, but otherwise waited patiently for Hiccup's response.

"Why am I a dragon?" Hiccup suddenly asked.

"What?"

"I mean, why did it happen? What you did last night isn't something that happens in one's everyday life."

It took a brief moment before Toothless answered.

"Magic."

"Magic?"

"Yes, that's what I believe it was, though this is the first time I've done anything like it. All dragons are magical creatures, we know it by instinct. We Night Furies are the one with the strongest connection to it. We are the only known dragon race to ever have used it before."

Hiccup had heard stories about magicians and wizards before, but never of magical dragons. He didn't really believe in magic, but now being a dragon and all, he was practical believing in anything. He wasn't really surprised by Toothless answer either, it kind of made sense. "_What else could have done it anyway?_" He thought.

But by hearing it, more questions started to take form in Hiccup's head.

"Since you can use magic, why don't you just use it on yourself to heal your missing tailfin?"

Toothless sighed.

"It's not as easy as you might think. We cannot use magic at will. You need have the right feeling, and be at the right place at the right moment, which is extremely hard to archive. That's why it almost never happens. I've tried before, without luck, but last night.." Toothless paused.

"Last night just felt like the right moment" Hiccup said, finishing Toothless's sentence.

"Exactly! I was looking through the memories of the time we've spent together when I got this feeling. Suddenly, the magic flowed through my whole body, just waiting for me to use it. When I directed it at you, I wished for it to make you better again, which it did..in a way."

"But don't you see what you've just done!" Hiccup burst out. "It's not that I'm not happy that you saved my life, but now that I'm a dragon, I can't ride you anymore, and you won't be able to fly again! Didn't you think about it before you used the magic?"

"My intention was to heal you again, I didn't know that you would become a Night Fury. I was just as surprised as you this morning. I didn't even know it really was you before you spoke to me! Besides, losing you would've been worse than losing my ability to fly. I don't know what I'd do if I really had lost you that night! You're my best friend Hiccup! You were the one who brought peace between the Vikings and dragons, and together we defeated the dragon queen. I will never forget that! My ability to fly will probably be gone forever, but that means nothing to me compared to what you mean to me Hiccup! Losing a tailfin I can live with, but losing you would be like losing a part of myself, and I don't want that to happen, ever!"

Hiccup was left speechless by Toothless's sudden outburst. He had never thought he meant so much to Toothless. He knew their bond had gotten much stronger after the death of the dragon queen, but flying was the most important thing for a dragon! He had experienced it himself when flying with Toothless. The wind blowing in your face, and the feeling of being completely free, without a care in the world. Having himself valued higher than that…it was true friendship.

Hiccup fumbled with his next words, almost crying. He also started to make whimpering noises, without really wanting to.

"You sacrificed a lot by having me transformed into this. I just don't know what to say..I.I."

"Say no more. You're safe now, and that's all what matters to me"

Hiccup walked up to Toothless and nuzzled him.

"Thank you" he whispered. "Thank you for everything!"

Toothless nuzzled him back, their purring sounds almost syncing perfectly together, like it created a song. A song about their growing friendship. They sat like that for a long time, just cuddling with each other. Toothless enjoyed every moment of it, he felt like they were getting really close together now. Hiccup was the first to end their connection, which disappointed Toothless. He wanted it to last longer, forever if it was possible, but it had to end at some point though.

**-{[S]}-**

Hiccup sat just outside the cave, looking at the sun as it was disappearing behind the horizon, giving the sky a red-like color. It had started gloaming, and a few stars had appeared, giving the whole scene a nice touch to it. "_I guess this is..what would Astrid call it?..Romantic_" he thought.

He watched the sun until it had completely disappeared, before returning into the cave. Toothless sat there waiting for him.

"I'm still feeling a bit weak after the fever, so I'm going to rest now" Hiccup said, letting out a yawn.

"That might be the best" Toothless agreed. He lay down and prepared to sleep. He too was feeling tired. He was surprised when he felt Hiccup curl himself up to him, pushing himself as tight to him as he could. Toothless happily accepted the body contact, which made them both feel warm and comfortable.

"I love you Toothless" Hiccup said, while laying his head against Toothless stomach.

Toothless ears went up by the words escaping from Hiccup's mouth. He looked down at the dragon. It was deep words he used, but Toothless knew it only was love by the friendship they shared. He took to his senses, and relaxed his muscles again. He licked Hiccup's head twice, affectionately.

"I love you too, Hiccup."

**-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-{[S]}-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-**

Morning came, and sunbeams broke into the cave, causing both Hiccup and Toothless to wake up.

Hiccup yawned and stretched himself like a cat, feeling fully recovered. He was in a good mood.

"Morning Toothless!" He said happily.

"Good morning Hiccup" replied Toothless. He stood up and walked to the opening of the cave, and let the refreshing air fill his lungs. The sun was already high in the sky, and there were barely any clouds to be seen!

"Looks like a good day to teach you some hunting" said Toothless, looking back at Hiccup.

Hiccup gave Toothless a confused look.

"I'm going to hunt! ?"

Toothless gave a low chuckle at Hiccup's expression.

"Why of course! You're a dragon now, and you should probably learn to live like one as well."

"I suppose you're right" Hiccup agreed, and followed Toothless into the forest.

**-{[S]}-**

They had walked a few minutes in silence before Toothless started talking again.

"We're going to track down a deer or something similar, maybe a rabbit. It would be the easiest one to start with."

"Why not fish?" Asked Hiccup. "Like cod, for instance." He licked his mouth by the thought the delicious taste of it.

Toothless chuckled deeply.

"I knew you would like it" he said. "Fish is our favorite food, but to catch it can be quite a tricky task. The key is to strike quick, and be agile underwater. It takes a lot of training though, so we won't start by doing that."

"I've seen you do it before, it looks easy. I can do it!" Hiccup said, quite confident.

Toothless nudged him.

"Maybe not now" he said happily.

"What, you don't think I could do it?"

Toothless sighed, and let out another chuckle.

"Hiccup, the wings are an important part for a dragon to be agile and quick in the water. Right now, it doesn't look like you use them much, or even noticed that you actually have a pair. You've been dragging them all the way from the cave."

Hiccup stopped and looked at both sides, seeing that Toothless was right. His wings hang down loose from his back. Hiccup flushed, even though you couldn't see it on his black scales. If he still was a human, he would probably be covered all over with red. He flapped his wings a couple of times to get the feel of them, and then folded them before they continued their walk.

**-{[S]}-**

About fifteen minutes later Toothless caught the scent of a rabbit, and quickly found the trail from it. It didn't take long before he told Hiccup to follow him slowly, and when they were behind a tree, Toothless gestured Hiccup to look past it. He did as Toothless said, and not fifty meters away, he spotted rabbits in a group of five, busy eating from a raspberry bush.

"Now, it's your turn to finish the job" said Toothless to Hiccup.

"What, you want me to kill them! ?"

"You're the one who needs training here, not me. You who bragged about catching fish was so easy, this should be no problem for you."

Hiccup merely huffed at Toothless and walked past him, sneaking closer to the rabbits. The sneaking part was done with horrible failure. The rabbits noticed him, and immediately began to run. Hiccup jumped forth and ran after them, screaming furiously of his prey getting away. He had almost catched up with one of them, but stumbled upon a root sticking out from a tree, causing him to lose balance and fall. Toothless watched it all with amusement, and chuckled while trudging over to where Hiccup was.

"You did fine for you first try" he said, cheering him up. "If you hadn't fell, you'd probably catch that one"

"How did they spot me that fast! ?"

"You didn't use the shadows around you to your advantage. It's was too easy to see you when you were practically bathing in sunlight. I suppose you could need a demonstration before you try again. Come on and let's find something else!"

**-{[S]}-**

They walked deeper into the forest, and it didn't take long before Toothless found another trail of an animal, several actually. They followed it, and it wasn't until afternoon before it had led them to an opening in the forest, where a pack of deer were grazing.

"Now, just stay here and watch how it's done" Toothless said to Hiccup, teasing him a little.

Hiccup just grunted, and sat down.

"Don't worry, in about a week's time, this will be like second nature to you!" Said Toothless and nudged Hiccup in the shoulder.

Hiccup couldn't possibly stay grumpy any longer, and nuzzled Toothless back.

"Thank you Toothless, you always know how to cheer me up"

Toothless purred affectionately, before crouching away from Hiccup, letting the magic go loose. He started with what Hiccup had done wrong, by hiding in the shadows, either from the bushes or the trees. If it wasn't for Hiccup's improved vision after the transformation, Toothless would been completely blended in with the shadows, making him invisible. He stalked towards the nearest deer, never leaving the shadows. Toothless took it slowly, not making the slightest sound. Soon, he was only about seven meters from the deer, who still hadn't noticed the danger. Toothless stood completely still, targeting his prey, before he leapt out from his hiding place. While in midair, he took one powerful stroke with his wings, making him go lightning fast towards the deer. It didn't stand a chance, or even got to move before Toothless was over it and landed on its back, breaking bones in the process. Toothless quickly finished it off by crushing its neck with his jaws. The deer lay dead on the ground, and Toothless roared triumphantly over his kill.

"Showoff" Hiccup said jokingly, while trotting happily over to Toothless.

Toothless just smiled and took a step back, letting Hiccup have a better look at his kill.

"How you used your wings when you jumped towards that deer..that was amazing!" Hiccup said. "I never knew you could use the wings in such a way."

"I maybe cannot use them to fly with," Toothless answered, "but they get pretty useful when hunting, both underwater and on the ground. It would have worked even better if I had my other tailfin though" he said, swaying his tail to indicate it.

Sadness started to show in Hiccup's eyes. He felt guilty about it, having taken away Toothless flying ability, as well as limiting his hunting skills. He walked over and leaned against him.

"I'm sorry that I shot you that night, it should never have happened"

"Hadn't it, we would never have met, and the war between Vikings and dragons would still go on. You're the greatest that have happened to me Hiccup, and I value our friendship higher than anything else. Remember that!"

Hiccup felt warm and reassured hearing that, and started to nuzzle Toothless, whom immediately accepted it lovingly. Toothless felt they were getting closer to each other every day now, but still he wanted to wait revealing his true feelings for him. He didn't want to ruin this moment by seeing Hiccup running into the woods, away from him. The time wasn't there yet, but it was getting closer. "_Always remember that.._", Toothless thought to himself, "_..my soon to be mate_".


	4. Chapter 4 Return

It had been one week and three days since the transformation, and Hiccup had gotten a lot better at hunting, as Toothless had promised. He had learned to use his newly senses, and tracking down animals was now easy work. He still needed some practice in actually_catching_ his prey, but he was making progress. If Toothless didn't know any better, he would have thought Hiccup never had been a human before.

The sky was covered in stars, and the moon was extra bright tonight, making the cave where Toothless and Hiccup stayed at, light up. Hiccup stared into oblivion, thoughts swirling around his head, keeping his brain busy. He let out a sigh.

"I miss home." he said.

"This can be our home." Toothless said, looking back at Hiccup.

"It doesn't change where I was born. I've lived in the village my entire life, and besides, my dad has right to know what has happened to me. Maybe it's time to return."

"Hiccup, how will your father know that you've transformed into a Night Fury? The moment he sees us, he will attack and try to kill the both of us. He's also got the entire village behind him, and their solution to solve things has always been with their fists, not their heads."

A small smile formed on Hiccup's face. "Then we just have to find someone who does."

"Like who?"

"Like...Astrid."

Toothless growled as the other dragon mentioned the blonde's name.

"Toothless, what's wrong with you? Any time I've mentioned her, you start growling. She has never done anything to you, so why are you doing it? Explain it to me."

"I don't like her!"

"That's not an answer!"

Hiccup waited, but when he realized that Toothless wasn't going to respond, he just huffed and lay down his head. "_By_ _Thor that dragon is more stubborn than any Viking I've met!_" he thought.

"Whatever you're thinking, we're going back to the village first thing in the morning, whether you like it or not" Hiccup said.

Toothless just puffed some smoke out of his nostrils, not wanting to take the conversation any further. Hiccup sighed, and closed his eyes before falling asleep.

**-{[S]}-**

When morning came, Hiccup was up early to prepare himself for the trip back home. Not that it was exactly _hard_ to prepare for a dragon, but he let the fresh air wake him up. He looked down at the sleeping Toothless.

"Hey bud! Time to wake up!"

The dragon shifted a bit, but otherwise lay still.

"Toothless, wake up!" Hiccup nudged the dragon lightly. "Come on buddy, you're even lazier than my dad!"

Unwillingly Toothless got himself up. He did not want to go back to the village, but he wanted to see the blonde even less. He gave Hiccup a sleepy look.

"Are you sure you want to do this?" He asked. "We could..."

"Yes, I've made up my mind." Hiccup interrupted.

"Alright, alright!" Toothless said. "But I'm only going because you are. They would probably mistaken you for me as well if I didn't go."

"Okay, so are you ready?"

Toothless yawned, and stretched his wings. He gave a last look at the cave, before turning to the opening.

"Yeah, let's go."

**-{[S]}-**

The weather was wet, and the forest was covered with a light fog. Two figures were trudging through it, one with its wings folded, and the other having them hang down loose.

"Hiccup, if you keep dragging your wings, you might da-.."

"Yes I know! You've said that like a million times now!" Hiccup growled. He snorted and shrugged his wings before they kept going. "How do you breathe fire anyway? Because I really want to fire a semi-solid mass at you right now."

Toothless chuckled before replying.

"It's not something that can be taught, you need to feel it yourself. You'll feel it soon enough."

"I've learned that every dragon species has a limited number of shots before they run out of fire, but I've never seen you run out. Why's that?"

Toothless smiled.

"You remember the time when I told you Night Furies had the strongest connection to magic?"

"Yeah?"

"Well, with such strong connection to it, the fire in us is created entirely out of magic, which means that we basicly have an unlimited number of shots. But because of this, our flame requires a slightly bigger amount of energy than what a normal flame from the other dragons would require. So it's really just one's stamina that is the limitation."

"Sounds like a good advantage."

"It is indeed."

They continued the walking for a while longer, before Hiccup changed direction. Toothless stared puzzled at him.

"Hiccup, where are you going? That's not the direction of the village."

"I'm going to the cove. It's where I think Astrid might be."

"What makes you think that?"

"Well, it was original our secret place until she showed up, so she might think it's where we would first return to, if we ever decided to come back."

It seemed reasonable enough to Toothless, so he followed Hiccup. "_At least it would keep us away from the village a little while longer_" he thought.

**-{[S]}-**

Astrid was staring at the ground. She had hardly done anything else since Hiccup's sudden disappearance. All that was left of him was his prosthetic leg. Without it Hiccup would be helpless in the woods if Toothless was not there to help him. Over a week had passed, and thoughts of Hiccup being attacked by a predator had started to appear in Astrid's mind. The village had retired their search party for Hiccup, claiming that he probably wouldn't return, or that he was dead, but Astrid refused to accept that. Every day she went to the cove, hoping that Hiccup may have returned, but it was empty. It always was! Even as there were no sign of him, she would still just sit there, believing in the slightest chance that Hiccup might just pop up from nowhere. But of course that was too good to be true. Nevertheless, she kept coming.

"_It's that damn dragon's fault!"_she thought_._ "_He went too far this time! Keeping me away from Hiccup is one thing, but kidnapping him is just_…_Argh! If he ever returns, I'll give him a piece of my mind!_" She looked at the sky, praying the Gods to help her. Right now, she didn't have anyone else to turn to.

"Hiccup, where are you!" She screamed.

Not a second later, she heard sounds coming from the forest. It rustled in the bushes not far from the cove. She quickly picked up her battle axe, hoping that her scream hadn't attracted any predators. She waited, and waited, until a black figure suddenly jumped down on the ground about thirty meters away from her. It was a Night Fury, and she noticed it was missing a tailfin.

"Toothless!" she yelled, in a brief moment she felt happiness, but then she noticed Hiccup was nowhere to be seen. He wasn't even wearing the harness anymore either, and the fake tailfin was gone as well.

"Toothless, where is Hiccup?"

The dragon just growled at her, and sat down.

"Toothless, where is Hiccup! ?" She screamed. "You better explain or I swear I'll chop off your head with my axe!"

Toothless looked pretty much unamused about Astrid's outburst, and kept still. Only moments later a new figure jumped down in the cove. It was another Night Fury! But a bit smaller than Toothless! It walked up to Toothless and started growling at him. It seemed that they were arguing, Astrid figured. She looked with mouth wide opened at the two. All this time Toothless had been the only one of his species, but now all of a sudden another Night Fury just seemed to come out of nowhere. But she quickly snapped out of it. She couldn't be surprised at this moment, Toothless was here, but not Hiccup.

"Toothless, stop the talk and tell me where Hiccup is!"

The two dragons stopped their arguing and looked at the teen that had just interrupted it. Toothless looked at her, before pointing at the other dragon.

"Yes Toothless, I can very much see that you got a new dragon friend, but right now you need to explain where Hiccup is."

Toothless growled back at Astrid, irritated that the blonde didn't catch what he meant. He walked back at Hiccup, and nudged him.

"This _is_Hiccup!" He growled at her.

Astrid glared back confused, but then suddenly getting what Toothless probably meant. She stared at him in disbelief.

"Toothless, please don't tell me that you're trying to say the other dragon actually _is_ Hiccup?"

Toothless nodded back at her.

"But that's impossible! How could.." She took a few steps closer, eyes focused on the other dragon. She looked at it, searching for anything that could resemble Hiccup, but she found none.

"Are you really Hiccup?" She questioned the dragon.

Hiccup whined softly and nodded.

Astrid gasped at the dragons nodding. "_Could it really be him?_" She thought. She wasn't fully convinced, but then got an idea.

"Alright, a simple nod isn't convincing enough for me. Now, if you really are Hiccup, you would know where we spent that romantic night together." She smiled to herself. "Show me where."

The dragon looked confident enough of the task she had been given him, and lightly trotted over to a tree nearby, and sat down under it. He then pointed at a big tree branch further up the tree. It looked back at her, waiting for any respond.

Astrid looked wide eyed at Hiccup, overwhelmed by joy.

"It really is you Hiccup! By Odin's name, it's you! You live!"

She ran towards him, and clung around Hiccup's neck.

"You don't know how much I've been worried about you! I've missed you so much!"

Hiccup purred loudly at the contact. Toothless...not so much. Obviously jealous he leapt towards them, screeching at Astrid. Hiccup hissed back, which made him stop. Astrid retreated from the contact, and cast an angry glare at Toothless.

"I've just seen Hiccup after him being gone for over a week, and that because of you! I must be able to welcome him without you going all crazy about it!"

Toothless snorted back and walked up to where Hiccup stood. Hiccup let out a small growl as Toothless was approaching him. Toothless whined apologies, which made Hiccup's face soften a little. He nudged Toothless, accepting his apology, and soon, it looked like the situation never even occurred.

"Yeah, it's nice to see everything turning all right between you two, but I think it's time to let the rest know of your return Hiccup. As well as yours Toothless."

Hiccup looked at Astrid and nodded lightly.

"However, it may not be so easy to prove that you're a Night Fury Hiccup. I'll try my best to explain to Stoic, but be ready for anything."

"We are prepared for the worst" Hiccup answered back.

"All right, just remember that I can't understand you Hiccup, okay? Anyways, with everything seemed settled, let head back!"

They started walking, and Toothless frowned at Hiccup.

"Romantic night, huh?" He grumbled to him.

"Oh please, don't start this now Toothless..."

**-{[S]}-**

They followed Astrid into the woods, in the direction of the village. While Astrid had stayed quiet all the way, Hiccup and Toothless were having quite a conversation. Behind she heard a mix of whining, growling, groaning, hissing and..yeah, pretty much every sound she could come up with! She felt a bit left out with Hiccup being a dragon, and came to think that this was what Toothless might have felt when she and Hiccup spent time with each other. For a moment she felt a little sympathy for Toothless, but it was blown away just as fast as it had come when she remembered the dislike the dragon felt towards her.

"…and why did you have to jump down?" Hiccup asked. "If you had just listened to me, it would all had gone so much faster"

"Hiccup, if I had stayed one minute longer, I swear my legs would have fallen asleep. Besides, it all went well didn't it?"

"I suppose it did" Hiccup agreed. "But you didn't have to growl at her like you did. She poses no threat to me at all, you know that! She would never hurt me!"

"Maybe not, but nevertheless she got too close to you."

"So, and what's the pro-…wait a second! Were you, jealous?"

Toothless shrugged.

"A bit."

Astrid noticed that all the noises behind here suddenly stopped, and when she turned around, he saw both Hiccup and Toothless busy nuzzling each other. She sighed.

"I guess I'll never understand the two of you. Just seconds ago you were arguing like you were mortal enemies, but just look at you now! It's like it never happened!

Toothless and Hiccup chuckled while smiling to each other. Astrid let out another sigh, before turning around. They were close, and she could now spot several houses in the distance.

"We're there. Be ready guys!"

**-{[S]}-**

As they stepped out of the forest and into the village, shouts could be heard everywhere! Everyone were yelling the same words. "She has found Toothless! Astrid has found him!"

"And another Night Fury" a few else called.

In less than a minute, the entire village had gathered around them in a circle! They could see Stoic pushing himself through the crowd not far away.

"Let me through! I need to see if ma'boy's alright! Hoark, if you don't move I swear by Odin's beard that I'll personal have you banished from the tribe!"

When he finally got through, he spotted Astrid, and two Night Furies, which didn't surprise him a bit at the moment, but, no Hiccup.

"But where's..." He glared at Toothless. "You devil, what have you done to my son! ?" he roared, and ran towards Toothless, whom immediately started growling.

"Stoic, don't do it!" Astrid cried out. "Hiccup is right here!"

Stoic stopped, and looked questionable at Astrid.

"Where! ?" He demanded. "I can only see two devils behind you, and they're going to pay for whatever they've done to Hiccup.

"He here whom you call devil", she pointed at Hiccup, "is actually Hiccup"

The tribe looked at her like she had lost her mind. Stoic laughed deeply.

"I don't know about you Astrid, but what I see is two Night Furies"

Astrid tried hard not to get furious at the looks the village gave her. "_Just calm down. They would soon disappear if I just could prove to Stoic that Hiccup really is the other Night Fury_" She thought to herself.

"Stoic, you have to believe me! It really _is_ Hiccup, I'm sure of it! I don't know what caused it, but somehow I think Toothless were able to get Hiccup healthy again, but it also transformed him into a dragon in the process. Look, I met them in the woods, and he was able to answer all the questions I asked him!"

Stoic looked intently at Astrid.

"You really _are_ serious of what ye're sayin' girl!"

"I've never been more serious in my life! Just ask him yourself if you don't believe me."

Stoic looked at Hiccup, and walked slowly until he was right before him.

"A-Are you my son?" he stammered.

Hiccup nodded, and let out a small whine. "I am dad" he said.

Stoic focused his eyes on Hiccup's. He stared at them, looking for something. He stayed motionless for what seemed like forever. Then, his eyes widened.

"By Thor it's you! You really are Hiccup! My son!" Stoic shouted while wrapping his hands around Hiccup's neck. Hiccup purred loudly, happy that Stoic had realized it was him.

The crowd just stood and watched with confusion, silence enveloping the village. For Valhalla's sake, their chief was calling a dragon his son, what would one expect! ?

"Hiccup has returned!" a Viking suddenly cried out among the crowd. Then the rest of the village leaped to their feet, cheering and shouting for the reunion between father and son.

Stoic loosened his contact with Hiccup and looked him.

"Did he really save your life?" he asked, giving a quick look over at Toothless.

Hiccup nodded vigorously. Stoic smiled and looked at Toothless.

"Well, I guess I owe you an apology then, devil. I let you go this time, but if you do as much as anything like this again to my son, I'll chop you into bits and make myself a sandwich out of you! You got that clear?"

Toothless let out a small grow, but Stoic just laughed. He let his gaze fall over to Hiccup again.

"So, you've joined them for real now haven't ya, eh! ? Looks like we're going to have a big and strong leader after all!"

Hiccup stared back and blinked dumbly.

"What? You thought just because you're a dragon, you would get away with the responsibility of becoming a chief! ?" Stoic said laughing. "You're still my son, no matter what you look like. Now, let us not discuss these problems. You're finally back, so it seems only right that we should celebrate it. We're throwing a party tonight!"

The village cheered and hurried to get the preparations done for the evening's feast. Stoic looked over to Astrid, who still hadn't moved.

"You should probably help the others with the preparations" Stoic said to her. "I'm sure Hiccup is tired, so he could use some time alone"

Astrid looked back disappointed, but wasn't going to protest to the chief, and walked slowly after the others.

Soon Hiccup said farewell to Stoic and walked towards his house, with Toothless following closely behind.. The window to his room was still left opened, ready for them if they ever returned. Hiccup smiled and jumped in.

"Well, that wasn't so bad" he said, getting himself comfortable in the room.

"Much better than expected" Toothless agreed.

"I really didn't think my father was going to take it so easy! I thought it would end up running back to the woods."

"I wouldn't mind that" Toothless said in a small voice.

"Aren't you happy that it turned out alright?" Hiccup asked, a bit of anger in his voice.

"Of course I am!" Toothless answered. "But we were having such a good time together in the forest. I miss it already" he whined.

"Look, if you really want to go back to the forest, we can do that sometimes too. How does that sound?" Hiccup asked, trying to cheer up his friend.

"Sounds good" Toothless purred.

The room fell into a silence, and Hiccup and Toothless curled up on the floor to get some well deserved rest.

Their sleep was interrupted when Stoic banged the door opened.

"Get up sleepyheads! Both Vikings and dragons are hungry, but the party can't start without you two! You don't want to be late for your own party now would ya! ? Now, let's head for the great hall!"

**-{[S]}-**

Shouting and laughter was echoing all around the hall. The Vikings were gathered around the tables, eating and drinking while many were telling stories of amazing adventures they've had. Most dragons couldn't handle that much noise though, and preferred to stay outside. After arguing with Toothless, Hiccup let everyone take a good look at his new self, many gasping at the sight. As everyone had taken their turn, only Fishlegs, Astrid, Snotlout, and Ruffnut and Tuffnut were left.

"Wow Hiccup, you look awesome!" Tuffnut burst out.

"Yeah, we totally don't want to mess with you now!" Snotlout said. A big grin then formed in his face. "Hey, since you're a dragon now, how about me being your rider, eh?"

Hiccup looked surprised back at Snotlout. How could he ask such a ridiculous question! ? He shook his head.

"Oh, c'mon Hiccup, it'll be fun!" Snotlout continued, and tried getting himself up at Hiccup back.

Hiccup didn't like this one bit. Couldn't Snotlout just take no as a no? Anger started to boil inside him, and for a moment he felt like he was about to explode! He pushed Snotlout away from him, and suddenly sent out a blue burst of fire, missing Snotlout's face by mere inches. The fireball flew across the hall room at lightning speed, exploding when it hit the wall. The impact was so hard it made the ground shake. Everyone stopped what they were doing and looked at Hiccup in shock. Snotlout stared wide eyed back at him.

"Hiccup…That. Was. AWESOME!" He exclaimed. "Do it again!"

The Vikings then jumped and cheered. Their future leader could breathe fire, who wouldn't want that! ? Hiccup looked rather confused, not entirely sure of what just happened.

"Wow, did I just do that?" He asked, looking at Toothless.

"Sure looks like you did" Toothless chuckled.

"With that kind of power, you could take down a whole army all by yourself!" Snotlout said laughing.

"That must be the most powerful shot I've ever seen!" said Fishlegs "The firepower must at least been twenty!"

The teens kept bragging about Hiccup's new abilities, which also led the twins into a fight, to everyone's amusement.

"I bet Hiccup could hold a fire for a whole minute!" Ruffnut said confidently.

"Stop talking nonsense" Tuffnut laughed. "I bet he could hold it for at least five!"

"Says who! ?"

"Says me! A minute would seem offending to Hiccup. Maybe he'd just shoot a fireball at your head right now! That sure would keep your mouth shut!" Tuffnut yelled.

"Maybe he would shoot one at you! He'd rather take sides with me!"

"Keep dreaming!" Tuffnut chuckled, and pushed his sister.

"How dare you!" She said furiously, and leapt forth and tackled Tuffnut to the ground.

The other laughed at the sight, but soon continued their talk, while the twins where occupied with what they do best.

As time went past, Hiccup gestured to the others that he was about to leave. He wasn't going to go through the night on an empty stomach, so he went looking for some fish in the bowl further down in the village.

"Hey Astrid" Snotlout suddenly said, "Since Hiccup is a dragon, how about you and I-"

"Don't even think about it!" Astrid said, glaring pointedly at Snotlout.

"Okay okay, just chill. I was just asking" he grinned.

The party kept on for hours, and as long as there was food left, there was no real reason to end it either. Also stoic held a speech dedicated to Hiccup, and was received with loud applause from the crowd when he finished. But it all had to end at some point. The Vikings never leaved the hall though, and soon they were spread out all over the room, sleeping both on the tables and the ground.

**-{[S]}-**

Hiccup woke up early next morning in his room. Toothless was still sleeping, so he thought he would take a walk through the village by himself. As he was trotting through it, he was constantly greeted by all the other dragons, taking the opportunity to thank him fully for saving them from the Dragon Queen, now that he could understand them. They all treated him like one of their own, which left him feeling warm inside. He really was one of them after all! It looked like it was going to be a good day. That was, until he was stopped by Astrid, and she didn't look happy.

"Hiccup! I've been looking for you, we need to talk! Your transformation has caused a lot of problems. The dragon training program has become a total mess! Without you, the Vikings can't even get near a dragon without it snapping back! One even attempted to fly on a Nadder, which ended in broken bones. I'm completely lost, who can possibly replace you?"

"_That's not good_" Hiccup thought, but he knew exactly who could replace him. He looked at Astrid, before poking a paw at her. She looked back, and raised an eyebrow.

"Me! ? You're joking, right?"

Hiccup shook his big head, and watched her with big eyes.

"Hiccup, I can't do this! I mean, who can but you! ?"

Hiccup didn't know any other way to explain, so he started whining. He kept on and on, while looking at the ground pitiful, until Astrid loosened her angry look, and finally gave in.

"Alright alright, I'll do it! Just stop all that whining, please!"

Hiccup stopped, and returned a Toothless smile at her, indicating his happiness.

Astrid laughed.

"You don't need to smile that way, you look ridiculous" She chuckled. "But you've just given me a lot to do, so I need to go now. I'll see you later!" She gave him a hug, before she went off.

And then she was gone, disappearing behind a house. "_Huh, I can't believe that actually worked!_" Hiccup thought to himself, smiling. Then he heard a loud screech, which he immediately recognized as Toothless'. "_Oops, I better get back before he wakes up the whole village_" He thought. He didn't need to go many meters before he saw Toothless coming running right at him, tackling him to the ground.

"Hiccup, why did you leave me like that! ?"

"Toothless, calm down! I was just out of the house a little early to get some fresh air. You slept so peacefully, so I thought I'd just leave you as you were"

"Don't do that ever again! I get worried when you're gone."

Toothless smelled the air around him, before looking down at Hiccup.

"You didn't get too close to anyone did you?"

"Well.." Hiccup started, "..I met Astrid on my way for some breakfast, and we had an conversation, sort of."

Toothless growled at the mention of her. He knew that scent was familiar.

"Oh, please Toothless, don't start that again! I've said to you before, she's no danger to me!"

"I don't care. You can't get too close to her, and I will make sure of that."

"Oh yeah? Then how! ?" Hiccup asked challenging.

"Oh, you'll see." Toothless said grinning.

Hiccup regretted with all his heart that he had mentioned Astrid, for Toothless was now clinging on to him, _everywhere_ he went! He made sure to not let anyone near Hiccup, besides Stoic and other Vikings Toothless didn't see as any immediate threat. Anywhere where Hiccup went, Toothless followed, no matter where it was. Even if Hiccup needed to do the slightest thing like needing to pee, Toothless was right there beside him, which made him flush. He felt really embarrassed having Toothless so close to him, _really_ close too! Not to mention when walking through the village.

"Toothless, can you please stop it, it's embarrassing when everyone looks!"

"I said I wouldn't let anyone near you, you just have to deal with it. And I don't see how this is in any way is embarrassing. We're just close to each other."

"Well for humans, that can usually mean many things."

"At this point you're not exactly a human Hiccup" Toothless grumbled.

Hiccup sighed. It looked like there was no way he was getting any privacy anymore, as long as this kept going.

With the next days, life finally started to take a normal turn. Hiccup could now use his new strong body help the others move heavy materials from one place to another, and learning about becoming a chief went mostly good as well. It was a bit hard for Hiccup and Stoic to communicate with each other, but after practice Stoic could understand much just out of body language, which helped a lot when Hiccup tried to explain something. And his work in the forge was far from over just because he didn't have hands! He had learned to hold a fire for minutes, and making weapons went a lot faster, since his flame was so hot. Stoic had also started to treat Toothless a lot better now when his own son also was a dragon. He talked to Toothless like he was a human, and fully a member of the family! He even called Toothless 'Toothless' now! It made Hiccup happy, and he wanted to screech out with joy. It all felt so right!

**-{[S]}-**

Hiccup was in his room, and had just finished doing some errands for Gobber. It was late, and he was about to sleep when he suddenly felt a tongue run across his head.

"Toothless, what are you doing?"

"Just cleaning you."

"I just took a bath in the cove today, is there anything to clean at all! ?"

"No, not really" Toothless answered while continuing his licking.

For some reason Hiccup just accepted that answer, and let Toothless continue his cleaning. It actually felt good, and it seemed like Toothless was enjoying it as well, as purring noises kept coming from him. But the feeling soon become too intense, and Hiccup could feel as he started to get aroused by Toothless' continuous licking. Hiccup flushed and moved away from the dragon.

"That's enough, no more licking"

"Why?" Toothless asked. "For me it seemed like you were enjoying it."

"I did, a bit maybe, but..i-it's started to get late, and I should probably get some sleep."

Hiccup just couldn't tell Toothless that he got aroused by it, and flushed at the thought that he actually did in the first place. His body was working against him! Toothless was just his best friend, nothing more, so this shouldn't be happening. Besides, he liked Astrid, didn't he?

In the following days Hiccup would still allow Toothless to clean him, if that really was what he was doing, but always stopped before it went too far. This sudden caring didn't stop there though. Toothless had also started nipping him, and would bite his tail for no real reason. He jumped around playfully and tackled him while he was trying to work. This kept on for over two weeks before Hiccup couldn't let this keep going. Toothless was really starting to get on his nerves, and decided he would force an explanation out of him. Toothless was acting very strange, and he wasn't going to sit back and do nothing. He needed to get to the bottom of this.

**-{[S]}-**

It was starting to get late, and Toothless was on his way to Hiccup's room. There, he found him, but his face was a mix of anger and worry. Toothless stopped in the doorway and looked puzzled at him.

"Is something wrong Hiccup?"

"You…"

Toothless looked back, startled.

"Me?"

"Yes, you're the problem Toothless. I don't know what's going through your head when you all of a sudden start biting or tackling me, but it's starting to annoy me. I noticed this similar behavior a long while ago when I was human, but at that time it would be hard to just ask you, since I couldn't understand you. But now I can, and I demand an explanation!"

Hiccup paused for a brief moment, thinking through what he just said, before continuing. This time, with a more anxious look on his face. "I'm worried about you Toothless, but unless you tell me what's wrong, I can't do anything to help you. You're my best friend, you can tell me anything! You don't need to keep acting this strange way, because it's just making me confused. Please, just tell me what's wrong so we can work this out."

"_I guess there's no way around then_" Toothless thought to himself. He had given strong signals, but it wasn't enough for Hiccup. If he ever wanted Hiccup to understand, Toothless would need to talk with him, face to face. He had pushed Hiccup to the limits, and now when he demanded an explanation, Toothless saw it as time to reveal his feelings to him.

He walked up to the window, and gestured Hiccup to follow.

"Where are we going?" he asked.

"Just come," Toothless said, and leapt out of the window.

**-{[S]}-**

Hiccup followed him, and soon understood that Toothless was taking him to the cove. "_Wonder why he's doing that?"_ He thought.

When they reached it, Toothless stopped by the lake, the water sparkling due to all the moonlight shooting down at it.

"I.." He started, "I don't know how to say this, but I'm just going to say it as it is. Hiccup, I love you.." Toothless paused for a brief second, but before he could continue, Hiccup interrupted him.

"Toothless I love you too, there's n-…'"

"It's not what you think it is Hiccup!" Toothless almost screeched back.

Hiccup froze…

"You don't understand, there's more to it than just friendship. Ever since we killed the dragon queen, our bond got so much stronger, and I wanted to see it as much more than just friendship. These new feelings kept me up at nights, and it drew me mad! I was confused at first, but then I understood, these feelings came because of you. It's you I want Hiccup! If there are any other Night Furies out there, I don't care, it's you I'd rather be with. My behavior back at the village, they were all hints, strong hints that I hoped you'd understand, so I wouldn't have to confront you like I'm doing right now. This could seem all so sudden to you, but these feelings have gnawed my head for months, and it drew me crazy that I couldn't tell you sooner! When you wanted an explanation, I saw no other way than to tell you, because I felt our friendship slowly would break if I kept keeping all these emotions hidden. I don't know how you'll react now, but I just want you to know that no matter how you will, this will always be how I feel about you, and always will, to the day I take my last breath, and whatever might come after."

Toothless looked at the reflection of himself in the water. No wind disturbed the water, it was all so clear. And he could see it, his body was shaking. There was no turning back now. No more secrets, no more hiding. This was it!

"Hiccup..". Toothless looked down, his claws digging into the soft ground. He took a deep breath, Then fixed his gaze at Hiccup once again, his eyes more serious than ever.

"I've chosen you as my mate."


	5. Chapter 5 Ecstasy In Grass

Hiccup stared back, his jaw literally dropping down on the ground. He thought he could solve whatever troubled Toothless, but he was definitely not prepared for this!

"Toothless, how can you think of such a thing?"

"Because I love you Hiccup.."

"But don't you see the problem here! ?" Hiccup burst out. "I'm a male, and you're a male..that isn't supposed to be. How is that even supposed to work! ? And have you ever thought of my feelings? Did you think that whatever you thought, I'd just go along with it? Don't I even get a saying about this? !"

"Of course, but I-"

"SHUT UP!" Hiccup screamed. Toothless was caught by surprise of Hiccup's screech, and backed off a bit.

"I can't take this anymore, just stay away from me."

"No Hiccup, wait!"

Toothless tried to follow, but was only greeted by sharp teeth barely missing his head.

"And don't you try to follow. Leave me alone!" Growled Hiccup.

Toothless sat down and started to whimper. He hated doing that, it was bad for his pride, but he'd do anything to make Hiccup stay. Hiccup just snorted and ignored the calls, and trotted away and into the woods.

Toothless watched helplessly. This couldn't be happening, it shouldn't! He had lost his best friend, his mate…his life! He let out a crying roar. He was alone!

**-{[S]}-**

Astrid was busy with dragon training when she heard it. It was maybe a bit late for it, but the training needed to be delayed due to work she had besides this. It sounded like a death scream coming from the woods. "_Hiccup!"_ She immediately thought. She walked up to a random Viking and placed the Terrible Terror she was holding, in his hands.

"Here, now you're the leader, good luck!"

"But I have neve-"

"I have more important things to attend right now, I'm sure you'll do fine. Just do what I've learned you today." And with that she quickly ran over the bridge and up to the village.

"..3, 4, 5, 6…" she counted to herself while running through the village. She spotted her house and went in to find her battle axe.

"..7, 8, 9, 10…"

With the axe in the hand, she set her course to the forest.

"..12, 13, 14.."

While running towards the forest, she could hear screams from helpless Vikings down at the ring.

"..17!"

Astrid sighed. _"Well, at least it lasted longer than last time. Then I only got up to 5."_

She was almost certain the roar had come from the cove, just off raven point, so that was where she was heading. "That blasted dragon better not have done anything to Hiccup."

**-{[S]}-**

Toothless was lying beside the little lake in the cove, doing nothing. What was he to do anyway, he had lost everything. He had lost his ability to fly, but he could only keep on living because of Hiccup. He was the only reason his heart kept beating. Now that he was gone too, did he really have anything left?

Toothless' ears went straight up when he heard sounds from the forest, and half-expected Hiccup to return. It was Astrid. Of course it was her; she must have heard his roar. Normally he would jump up right away and start growling, but he felt no energy in doing so. It seems like they've left with Hiccup.

Astrid walked up to Toothless and looked down at him. "You better explain yourself" she said with a harsh voice. Toothless fixed his gaze on her, and looked up with such sad eyes, it even made Astrid loosen her angry look. He had never seen Toothless so sad before. This was not Toothless' normal behavior, not towards her at least. She knew something was wrong.

"Toothless" she said, with a much calmer voice, "Where's Hiccup?"

Toothless whimpered and looked over to where Hiccup had disappeared.

"He has ran away, alone! ?" She yelled. "That's not good, especially when he has the habit of always getting himself into trouble. Come on Toothless, we need find him". Astrid was already hurrying away from the cove, but stopped when she noticed Toothless didn't follow her. She turned around to see the dragon still in the same position. "Toothless, Hiccup might be in trouble, don't you want to find him?". The dragon let out a small groan, but didn't make any attempt to move. Astrid stared baffled back.

"I don't know what's wrong, but I'm not staying here to do nothing" she said. And then she ran off to the woods.

"_Great, now Astrid has gone looking for Hiccup, could life get any worse?"_ Toothless thought to himself. Hiccup had rejected him without even take what he said into consideration. He washed away his feelings like they were nothing of importance. And now Astrid was going to find him. He had seen the way Hiccup had looked at her, how he got filled with excitement every time they met. Toothless looked down on the ground, using his claws to draw the way Hiccup had once done.

"All the time we've spent together, everything we've done, was for nothing? Does he only look at me like I'm just..a mere 'pet'? Do I mean so little to him?

**-{[S]}-**

Hiccup sat in the middle of nowhere. He had no clue where he was, but that didn't disturb him. His mind was too occupied with confusing thoughts to pay any attention to his surroundings. Toothless' feelings explained all the weird behavior from him; the biting, the 'cleaning' in the evenings, the anger towards Astrid. Toothless must have seen her as a threat, because he had claimed him as his...mate. The last part was said with a rather bitter voice. How could Toothless even think of this, having him as a mate? He's a male, which means Toothless won't be able to reproduce, and can't continue the line of Night Furies. And who knows if he's going to stay as a dragon forever. If he transforms back to a human, what then?

A cracking noise suddenly caught Hiccup's attention. Out of the bushes nearby came a very tired Astrid, sweat running down her face. She steadied herself with her battle axe, and looked up at him, as if just too make sure she really had found what she'd been looking for.

"Do you..have..any idea..how dangerous..being in the forest…can be! ?" she said between breaths.

"I'm a dragon, whatever's in the forest should fear me."

"Oh don't you make those grumbling noises to me! You may be a dragon, but you're still Hiccup." She looked around a bit, but found nothing odd about the place Hiccup had chosen to stay. "What are you doing here anyway? Toothless is back at the cove, and he acted strange. You should've been there with him, not here all alone."

Hiccup released a series of grunts and groans, which didn't make the situation any more clear for Astrid. She lifted an eyebrow and sighed.

"We need to work on the talking part, I don't understand anything you just said. Maybe one of the elders can help us with it, they've always been good at this kind of stuff. Come on and let's head back to the village, it's surely about time you spend more time with your girlfriend."

All Hiccup wanted was to be alone. He would have none of that if he went back to the village. He turned around and started to walk in the opposite direction. Astrid watched, clearly starting to get angry.

"Don't turn your back on me."

No responds.

"Bah! Would you just stop thinking about your problems with that stupid pet of yours and come back here! Don't you care about me anymore?"

The sound from Hiccup's footsteps stopped.

"_Stupid? Toothless is far from stupid, and definitely not a pet!_"

Hiccup fixed his gaze at the blonde, looking at her in a more different perspective than before. Why should he follow her back? What have she ever done to him to make him her boyfriend? Ignoring him? Treating him like air, like if he doesn't exist? It's was only after he met Toothless that she started to notice him. She's just with him because he became the hero, nothing more. Anything to make her status high among the village. If he never met Toothless, he could pretty much die out here in the woods, and nobody would've even notice he was gone. Toothless was the very reason he had a purpose to live. He became friends with Hiccup the useless, not Hiccup the hero. When everyone else saw him as nothing more than a talking fishbone, Toothless was there for him. He never cared if he was a hero or not, it was their friendship Toothless valued. He valued it so much, he actually…fell in love.

"_When he revealed his feelings for me, and I didn't even take time to consider them, I can't imagine how much that could've hurt him. If not for him, I wouldn't have gotten any attention nor had friends in the tribe. I wouldn't had anything! I would still be the chief's useless son."_

He looked at the ground, remembering what he'd just said a couple of hours ago.

"Gods, what have I done?"

Hiccup turned around again and faced Astrid, this time looking at her with disgust. She had blinded him with her false love, using him as a tool to get what she wants. She wasn't her boyfriend, she didn't even deserved to call him a friend.

"Toothless is neither stupid, nor a pet. He's my best friend…and my mate!"

Hiccup then let out a screech that sounded so fears, it could even have overcome the Boneknapper's. Astrid tumbled backwards and fell. She looked up at Hiccup, and for the first time, feeling scared of him.

"Hiccup, what's happening! ? Whatever I said I'm sorry!"

"Oh, so you don't even know what you did wrong? Everything about you is wrong!" Hiccup hissed.

He shot a burst of blue flame towards the girl. It struck beside her, the force of it making her fly several meters to the side. It was a warning shot. Astrid knew this, and quickly got up. Hiccup watched as she ran as fast as she could away from him. She didn't look behind her once. Hiccup snorted, puffing out smoke from his nostrils. "_Now, I gotta get back to the cove._"

**-{[S]}-**

With a speed he thought he never had, Hiccup ran through the forest, dodging trees and other obstacles like it was a child's play. Not even the dark slowed him down! How could he have been so stupid, so blind? He should have accepted Toothless feelings right there when it happened, how could he even have hesitated? He arrived at the cove and jumped down. It was pretty high, but he didn't care. He didn't feel any pain as his feet met the ground.

"Toothless! I've finally understand, I-"

Hiccup stopped when he realized he was talking to nobody. He looked around, but the silence spoke for itself; the cove was empty. Toothless was gone, and he had himself to blame. He doubted he would find him back at his house after how he leaved him here too. Hiccup trudged around, looking for some kind of trace. He walked alongside the lake, and suddenly noticed some carvings in the ground. Toothless has been drawing, like the way he had done a long time ago. Memories streamed back to Hiccup's head. It was what first brought them closer, the start of an ever growing bond. Hiccup looked at Toothless' work and smiled, inhaling the scent of him.

"_…Wait, what! ? The scent!"_

He inhaled once more. It was not to be mistaken, that was definitely the smell of Toothless. That meant he can't have gone very far, and all he have to do was to follow the scent, like Toothless had taught him! Hiccup's dragon instincts kicked in and he started to follow the scent into the woods.

**-{[S]}-**

Toothless made his way through the forest with languid steps. All energy was gone, even his wings hang down from his body. He neared a small lake, and walked over it. He looked down, seeing the reflection of himself in the tranquil blue water.

"Pet…" He sighed.

His focus changed on the briskly fish beneath the liquid. They looked so alive down there, and hurried away deeper as his head closed in on the watery surface. His stomach rumbled, signaling it needs for food…but he didn't care. With lost hope he dragged himself away from the lake, wandering in the direction of where sounds of screaming seagulls and wild waves splashing on to the shore could be heard. The feeling was going to disappear soon anyways.

**-{[S]}-**

Hiccup focused on the scent and nothing else, his mind set to only use one of his senses. Over the stone, to the left of the tree, into the grass, over the opening and into the forest again. It never stopped to amuse Hiccup how good his smell has become after the transformation. The forest felt so much more alive now, with being able to pick up the tiniest scent. He could even know a squirrel was hiding up that tree he just went passed, even though he neither could see nor hear it. Time quickly slipped away, and it went like an hour before Hiccup stopped. He looked up and could see that he no longer found himself in the woods. He had arrived to a cliff. Worry immediately started to show in Hiccup's face.

"okay just calm down, I can very much have done something wrong. Maybe the smell leads somewhere else."

But no matter how much he tried, no matter how much he wanted, he couldn't change the bitter truth. The scent was leading to the cliff. Fear enveloped Hiccup, giving him the worst thoughts. He tried shaking them away, put they were nailed to his head. He carefully walked closer to the cliff. One part of him wanted to just run back home, but the other kept dragging him closer to the cliff, to know the truth.

"Oh please don't, please don't!"

Hiccup took a brief moment to gain enough courage, and then looked down the cliff. Down at the bottom was a shingle beach. Small to medium sized rocks covered most of it, while bigger rocks also could be found, probably ruptured chunks of what once was a part of the cliff he was standing on. Hiccup quickly scanned the beach, and froze.

"No..."

Down at the beach, right under him, lay an lifeless body of a black dragon.

"no, no..it can't be.."

Hiccup looked closer to make sure it actually was a dragon, the darkness could maybe play tricks on him. He observed it from head to tail. It was missing a tail fin.

"Toothless! Oh Gods no, this can't be true!

Hiccup looked around, and could see that the cliff lowered itself to his right. A path was leading down to the ocean. He quickly ran down to the beach and over to where he had seen Toothless. He stopped and looked down at the inanimate body. It was lying in a pile of blood..a lot of blood. Hiccup nudged Toothless.

Nothing happened.

He tried nudging him again.

Still nothing..

"Come on Toothless wake up! Don't leave me, not now, please!"

Hiccup's face got covered in tears. This couldn't be happening. He can't lose his best friend, he won't accept it.

"Please Toothless, do something..anything!"

Still no movement came from the body.

"Damn you Toothless, you can't die! I love you! You hear me! ? I love you, I always have. I'm sorry for the reaction I had back at the cove, but everything was blindly spoken. I didn't know how to handle the situation back then...I..I was just confused! Please don't Toothless..come back."

Tears ran down Hiccup's cheek and down on Toothless' body. He couldn't stop them, they dripped like an never-ending rain coming from his eyes. Rain filled with regret and sorrow.

"Please don't… If you die, my life has lost its purpose. I can't continue this world alone, I need you. You're my best friend, and now something more. You called me your mate, and now I'm calling you the same. Toothless I love you, don't leave me!"

While resting his head on his mate's body, Hiccup didn't notice something odd happening around him. His teardrops, one by one, flew up and hovered in the air right above him. Every single drop of tear gathered themselves in a circle right above hiccup. Then they lit up. The bright light caught Hiccup's attention, and he looked up. The tears looked like small stars.

"Did I just…do that?"

For a moment they just hovered in the air, but then they started to move around in a circle, gaining speed for every round they made. As the speed increased, so did the light. It brightened up more and more, and it started to stung in Hiccup's eyes by the strong brightness. The speed continued to increase, and made the tears take shape of a ring. While spinning around, drops from Toothless blood rose from the ground and merged itself with the tears from Hiccup, letting the white color of the ring change to red. A humming sound continuously escaped it, and increased in sync with the rising speed. It started to decrease in size, getting smaller and smaller, while the humming became so loud and sharp, pain was caused in Hiccup's ears…and then it stopped. Hiccup looked up, and saw that the ring now had formed itself into two red orbs. They moved down, one placing itself over Toothless, the other hovering before Hiccup. Without warning, and with lightning speed, the two orbs merged themselves into Toothless and Hiccup's body. Hiccup felt tremendous pain in his head, but it only lasted in a split part of a second.

Hiccup felt a little dizzy, but otherwise the orb had caused no harm to his body.

"Well, that sure was something…new."

Hiccup shook his dizziness away and got up. He noticed the still lifeless body of Toothless, and sadness washed all over him again.

"_All this, and nothing happened? It must have done something at least."_

He stared up at the black star-covered sky, letting himself just sink deep into grief.

"y.. said you loved me" a small voice said from behind.

Hiccup spun around, and met Toothless' eyes, who were looking straight at him. It glimmered lively in them by the moonlight. It was the most wonderful sight!

"TOOTHLESS!"

Hiccup bent down and started nuzzling him. "I thought I'd lost..y-you were dead!"

"Back in the cove.."

"I overreacted!" Hiccup quickly said. "I guess I just didn't know how to handle the situation, it came as a bit of surprise on me. But I've had time to think, and come to realization that I feel the same way you do. I love you Toothless, and I truly mean that!"

Toothless purred loudly at that, and returned the nuzzling. He looked up at the cliff.

"I shouldn't have survived that fall"

"You didn't" Hiccup said smiling.

"What?" Toothless said, looking back bewildered.

"Don't you see? I used magic on you. Somehow I used magic, and it worked!" Hiccup answered while grinning.

"Magic to revive. That would cost enormous amount of energy, and you are still standing wide awake! Normally anyone who'd use magic that powerful would-"

At that moment Hiccup felt an unbearable tiredness. He could feel the sudden loss of energy that had been sucked out of him, and his vision became cloudy. He fell right onto the ground.

"… Yeah, like that" Toothless finished for himself. He walked up to Hiccup and settled down close beside him, and purred affectionately over that he once again could sleep close to his mate. He gave him a caring lick, and placed a wing over the dragon. He fell asleep as soon as he closed his eyes.

**-{[S]}-**

The Night Fury looked down. It was about a hundred feet in free fall. Around him the storm rages, causing the waves to move wildly at the sea. Black clouds covered the sky, giving continuous lightning that struck down at rapid speed. The weather was everything but good, giving the feeling that the Gods had turned against all living things.

"Toothless, you can't do this, it's insane!" Hiccup cried.

"I can't live on like this, I'm sorry Hiccup.."

"Don't do it!"

"Farewell.."

Toothless gave a last look back, before letting himself fall down from the cliff.

"TOOTHLESS!"

Hiccup bolted upright, panting heavy. He quickly looked around, and found himself at the beach. The sun was about to rise over the ocean, and it was still early in the morning. Toothless woke up, and stared at Hiccup, who was gasping for air.

"Is everything alright Hiccup?"

"What? Oh yeah.. yeah, I..I was just having a bad dream that's all"

"It's over now, so think no more of it" Toothless said reassuringly.

Hiccup looked at Toothless. It was almost like he could feel the care from Toothless transferring over to him, calming his mind.

"_Wow, that helped surprisingly well"_Hiccup thought.

"A pleasure it did" Toothless smiled.

"What?"

"What?" Toothless asked back.

Hiccup gazed at Toothless, and would have raised an eyebrow if he had any. _"Can Toothless read my thoughts?"_

Toothless stared back surprised. "Seems like I can, but not before this morning." Toothless thought about it for a moment, then figured out it must have something to do with Hiccup's magic.

"Okay Hiccup I want you to try the same thing to me. Try to hear what I'm thinking"

It sounded crazy to Hiccup, but he obeyed still. "Ok, I'll give it a go."

Hiccup focused on Toothless and tried to hear anything from him. He felt a tingled feeling in his head, like some unknown force touched him. _"…..Hiccup, can you hear me_?" Excitement ran through Hiccup as he heard the voice of Toothless. _"Y-yeah..I...I can. Wow, this is fantastic!"_

"I knew something like this would happen."

"What are you talking about" asked Hiccup?

"The mind-reading comes from the magic you used last night. You said you used it unconsciously?"

" Yes, I wasn't even sure I was responsible for it either. It just..happened"

"Yes, but it did more than just what you wanted it to. There's a reason magic has been used such a few times, more than just what I've told you before. You see, not only is it hard to use magic, but when it happens, it's all guided by what you're thinking the exact same time the magic is released. And that's what makes it dangerous. It takes only one wrong thought, and you could be dead, as well as killing the one you're using it on. No one but a few have dared trying it in fear of the consequences it may cause. We've just lucky the only side effect of your magic, was the power to read each other's thoughts. You must have thought about something that led the magic to do this. Only the word "thought" can do many wonders. And in fact we're more than just lucky; mind reading can become quite useful in many ways."

"Why haven't you told me about this before?"

"Because…".. Toothless hesitated for a moment. "…Because I was afraid of losing you"

Hiccup looked confused. "How come?"

Toothless hesitated again, but figured out lying wouldn't get him anywhere, especially when Hiccup now was able to read his thoughts anyway.

"When I used magic on you back in the cave, between all the emotions, a thought passed by. The thought of you becoming a dragon, like me. I thought about how many new things we could do, all the possibilities! What I didn't think of was how I must have destroyed your life; your relationship with your dad, the village….Astrid. Hiccup, it's my fault that you're a dragon, and not a human anymore. I was selfish, and didn't think how you might would react to it. You've been transformed into something completely different, without even having the chance to make your own decision of it. I'm sorry Hiccup."

Toothless looked down in remorse, he expected the worst. It would be like in the cove all over again…but nothing happened. Toothless lifted his head, and saw that Hiccup was smiling to him.

"You're not angry with me?" asked Toothless.

"Flipping out one time should be enough" Hiccup said and chuckled. "Besides, being a dragon isn't bad at all! Now I can finally understand what you're saying, which have only strengthen our bond, and my relationship with dad have only improved. And forget about Astrid, I'm over her….It's you I love Toothless, and now I really mean that as more than just friendship."

Toothless felt warm and reassured inside by hearing that.

"Thanks Hiccup."

Hiccup cuddled Toothless on the snout, showing his forgiveness.

"Now let's head back to the village, I'm hungry."

**-{[S]}-**

They walked at the beach until they found the path Hiccup had came down. As far as they could see, that's the only way down to the shingle beach, and up again.

"Can I read other than just your thoughts?" Hiccup asked as they made their way up.

Toothless thought about it a moment, but then shook his head.

"No. The magic does not affect anyone else than the one you use it on."

Hiccup was a little disappointed at that. If he could speak with his dad through the mind, it'd make everything so much easier, but he quickly stopped thinking about it.

When they reached the top, memories of yesterday appeared to Hiccup when he looked at the top of the cliff. He walked to the edge and took a peek down. It was a long way to the ground. Toothless came up and sat down beside him.

"Why did you do it?" Hiccup asked.

"I can show you" Toothless answered.

Hiccup stared back at him, waiting for Toothless to explain.

"Mind-reading is much more than just reading thoughts" Toothless began. "First thing, I want you to try forgetting every stressful thought. Don't think about the surroundings around you, and don't pay attention to the sounds from them. Clear your mind from everything..then try to expand it. Do not think about it as just something inside you, try letting it out, try to find mine."

Hiccup did as Toothless said. He closed his eyes, and let all his worries and thoughts just vanish. He calmed his mind, letting the attention to everything around him, slip away. He was in total darkness, his mind cleared from the world outside. He then let his consciousness search for Toothless', steering straight forward at a slow pace, to where he thought he'd find him. He felt a tickled feeling when his mind felt the awareness of another. They touched just slightly, like two beings getting to know each other for the first time. Hiccup felt the other consciousness starting to try grab a hold of his, but Hiccup retreated back, a little nervous.

"_It's okay Hiccup, it's just me."_Toothless assured him._"Just try letting it come to you."_

Hearing the voice of Toothless was all Hiccup needed to move forward again. He could feel Toothless' consciousness again, and when Toothless slowly grabbed hold of his, he did the same to him. Slowly they advanced, letting their mind fill the other. Hiccup gasped as the consciousness of Toothless streamed into his mind. The feeling was incredible! Memories, thoughts and emotions from Toothless flowed through Hiccup's mind.

But there was one thing that stood out and whipped everything else away. It was the love. The amount loving emotions completely overwhelmed Hiccup; the love Toothless felt towards him, was beyond anything imaginable to him! Never had he thought that such compassion, feelings, care and lust could be directed at him. Compared to this, Astrid would be nothing more than a simple stick of wood that helped him getting away the dirt under his fingernails.

Hiccup opened his eyes, revealing Toothless standing right in front of him. Hiccup was speechless, it was all just indescribable. He felt so ashamed of the way he had treated Toothless. Toothless noticed this; he could feel Hiccup's depression as his own. Their mind was practically one now. Their consciousness had been sealed in a bond that could never be broken. There was a connection between them, like a bridge, where anything the other felt was shared with the other mind, even pain. The pain Hiccup now felt, Toothless could feel also.

"I.I.." Hiccup stammered.

"Don't think about it Hiccup. Let go of what happened, it's part of the past. Think about what is now, and what lies ahead of us."

Toothless started slow, letting his tongue run up Hiccup's neck.

Hiccup chuckled by the tingling feeling.

"Toothless, we haven't ate breakfast yet" he weakly said.

"Right now I'm hungry for something far else that I've wanted in a long time.." Toothless said intrigued, giving Hiccup another lick. "..and you're a very bad liar Hiccup."

Toothless guided his tongue under Hiccup's head, right at that special place. Immense pleasure exploded in Hiccup's body as his muscles got paralyzed and he fell down on the ground.

"Right where I want you" Toothless smiled.

Hiccup had barely come to his senses before he felt Toothless' slobbery tongue running over his stomach, making him moan in pleasure, though it sounded more like a long growl and a hidden whimper.

It was like music to Toothless' ears. Getting more excited, he explored more of Hiccup's body, licking every sensible part he could find, causing more pants and groans from Hiccup's side. He loved it, he admitted to himself. There was no wrong in this, as long as it was love and trust. And it felt so right, and so goood!

"Oh…Toothless…" Hiccup panted.

Toothless gave out loud purrs. Finally it was happening! He had been longing for this in months. Hiccup was his, all for his own! And he was practically yearning for him too! _"Let's move on to a more sensitive spot."_

"What do yo—gah…"

Toothless had moved down to Hiccup's sheath, using his wild tongue to get that member out. Hiccup's male hood jumped to life, and came out from its hideout place to see the world for the first time. Never having seen his dragon hood before, Hiccup was quite amazed by its size.

"Wow, it'd got big!"

Toothless looked at it with lust in his eyes. "Not too big for my mouth!" he smirked, and then engulfed the whole shaft with his mouth, lapping and tasting it. Hiccup growled and wriggled in explicit pleasure that was released from his nether part. He could feel the warm breath from Toothless, the tongue that continuous painted his shaft with saliva, and he loved it!

Pre began to leak from Hiccup's member, and Toothless inhaled the scent. Oh the wonderful scent of arousal, the scent of his mate! Feeling it was time, because Hiccup was definitely not far from climax, Toothless retreated the contact, and let dragon cock wag in free air. Hiccup yelped as cold air brushed his shaft, not expecting the dragon to retreat now!

"Toothless why did you stop?"

Toothless chuckled. "You know, just yesterday-"

"Yeye I know how I felt back then blah blah blah…Wasn't it you who said to forget the past? Come on, don't keep me waiting like this!" Hiccup pleaded.

Toothless couldn't possibly continue the teasing and oblige immediately, using both his shaft and ball sack to grind with Hiccup's, both groaning loudly at the touch. But it would take more than that to please them both, especially for Toothless.

He looked down at his own pride, he had needs he too, and the only way was through that hole. Hiccup could very much see what Toothless was staring at, and all the thoughts…the lust that came from him through their connection, only proved it.

"_Is it going to hurt?"_ Hiccup asked.

"_I don't know. I'll be gentle; just speak out if you feel any pain, and I'll stop."_

Toothless began licking the hole, smearing it up with saliva. The hole needed to be wet, and those muscles loosened up before he tried entering it. It wasn't all too bad for Hiccup, who was busy making sounds like "mmh" here and "aah" there…and a growl somewhere in the middle. His member showed at least a lot of interest with its full erection, swaying back and forth every now and then.

When Toothless seemed satisfied with the hole being good for penetration, he placed his shaft before the butt hole and waited for Hiccup to give his signal.

"You ready?" Toothless asked.

"…Do it."

Toothless entered Hiccup's body, penetrating the hole as slow as he could, though he needed to fight the urge to thrust it in with wild force. Hiccup on the other hand, was fighting with all his might to not scream out of the terrible pain he felt.

"Toothless stop, stop! It hurts! "

"Shall I pull myself out! ?" Toothless asked worried.

"No no, just…don't move. I need to gain my breath back"

The feeling was unbelievable painful. It felt more like a sword penetrating your ass, making bruises in the process. When the pain subsided a little, Hiccup decided to keep going. Toothless barely got to start before the pain came back with full force.

"Hnnngh….no, STOP! STOP!"

Hiccup panted frantically, and hissed as the pain slightly increased.

"I don't know if I can take anymore Toothless, it's just too painful."

Toothless wouldn't accept that, it was a too good moment to let it go.

"I could try easing the pain by sending some of my energy over to you through our connection."

"Is that possible?" Hiccup asked amazed?

"Yes, just hold still and don't fight it."

Toothless focused on some of his energy, then sent it over to Hiccup through their connection. Hiccup could feel the good energetic feeling as Toothless' energy spread itself throughout the body. The pain subsided until he didn't feel it anymore.

"Toothless, I think it worked."

"Does it hurt if I do..this! ?"

Toothless then slammed his shaft all the way in. A big moan escaped Hiccup, his male hood immediately light up in interest again.

"I guess I could take that as a fact that it didn't" Toothless smiled.

"Then what are you waiting for?" Asked Hiccup impatiently. "Go on!"

"With pleasure!"

This time there was no mercy. Toothless began taking that hole, each thrust with powerful force. His ball sack was bumping into the scaly skin of his mate, making it all the more pleasurable. Hiccup's body shook, every thrust sending intense ecstasy up his spine, despite the alien feeling he felt of having a fat shaft inside him. But that feeling was soon gone, and pure pleasure was all that was left.

"Oh Toothless…more…faster." He begged.

Toothless released a rumbling purr, but Hiccup could feel his thrusts became more frequently.

"_Toothless, I love you so much! I can describe how happy I am that I have one like you. All the joy, the happiness and the love we share when we're together..never leave me!"_

"_I won't. You're my life Hiccup! Even if the world were to go under, nothing would break us apart!_

Pre was leaking from Toothless cock, making the entrance more sleek, causing the thrusts to go a lot smoother. Toothless enhanced his speed even more.

"Gods Toothless!..so..good.." Hiccup growled. More and more pre leaked from his shaft, and he was about to reach climax.

"_Toothless, I'm nearly there"_

"_I'm close too"_

"_Unngh..can't hold on any longer…"_

"_Release with me Hiccup!"_

The timing couldn't have been more perfect; both letting out a thunderous roar as orgasm hit them. Shot after shot of white liquid flowed out of Hiccup's shaft, spilling it out on his stomach, while Toothless filled Hiccup's hole with his precious seed. Their orgasm was shared through their bonded consciousness, redoubling the amount of pleasure! Their mind literally exploded with so much ecstasy, and so much pleasure, and it went through everywhere in the body! Hiccup rolled his eyes, almost fainting from the strong sensation; Toothless fell down on the grass beside Hiccup, seed still pouring out of his hard shaft. It took several moments before the ecstasy faded. The two just laid there, both gasping and panting, looking more like two corpses with all the mess and smell around them.

"That….was AMAZING!" Hiccup exclaimed.

Toothless purred and nodded in agreement.

**-{[S]}-**

Nothing more was said. They had just woken up, but were already tired again. They eyed at each other for a long time, before going in for a nice cuddling. And the couple stayed like that, head against head, and fell asleep.


	6. Chapter 6 Watchful Eyes

Hiccup's dreams got shattered as he woke up by a feeling of stinging pain in his left shoulder. He yelped and pounced up on all fours. As he looked at his shoulder, he noticed several bite marks. They weren't deep, but enough to cause small scars in the future. Small droplets of blood were still coming out from the wound. Alarmed, he quickly looked around for the source for whoever had attempted to hurt him. The search didn't last a second, as Toothless was standing right in front of him, with some of_his_ blood covering his teeth.

"Toothless, you bit me!" Hiccup growled.

"Calm down Hiccup" Toothless said. "I only claimed you as my mate. I thought it'd hurt less if I did it while you still slept"

"By biting me? !"

"It's our way Hiccup. Don't humans do that as well?"

The question was thrown right in Hiccup's face. He wasn't prepared to get a reply like that!

"Ehh…uh...NO! Of course not! Humans don't mate for life…or… well, they try though, but it doesn't usually happen. Besides, humans don't have sharp teeth like dragons. They're more flat and square-shaped. They're not great for biting, but rather more for chewing food"

Toothless looked at Hiccup like if he had just said something utterly stupid. "Humans are weird"

"We're not!" Hiccup burst out. "…I mean, they're not. They're just…argh! Why are we even talking about this?"

"I don't know" Toothless said, just as calm.

Hiccup grumbled and looked at the mark. Luckily his black scales didn't make it that visible. If anyone finds out what really happened, he'll be dead for sure. For once he was glad the Vikings had no interest in the life of the dragons, except how they best can be killed. Come to think of it, they don't really care about that either anymore, since they're not a threat to them any longer. But it'll still be a problem if his dad were to see it, so Hiccup hoped the black color would do the trick.

"Don't worry Hiccup, I'll protect you if anything happens" Toothless assured.

"Is that supposed to reassure me? !" Hiccup laughed. "Now I'm even more worried about the others!"

Toothless hummed and gave Hiccup a light nuzzle. "I'll take that as a compliment, thanks"

Hiccup accepted the touch warmly. The touches felt so much more affectionate than before, but then again it felt so right.

"We should wash our self before we do anything else, I can't catch any scent other than the smell of sex around us, not to mention ourselves! " Hiccup said while looking down at the beach, then over to Toothless again. "We can take a quick dive in the ocean"

Toothless let the scent touch his nostrils. "Oh, but you smell just fine Hiccup. We don't have to" he smiled.

Hiccup sighed. "Maybe for you, but I doubt certain others will see it as _just fine_when they catch this smell around me. I know my tribe doesn't contain the smartest of minds, but they definitely aren't complete idiots either. Let's hurry up and then head back before anyone gets suspicious, I think we've been gone for long enough already"

**-{[S]}-**

After a quick dip, Hiccup and Toothless went for the village. The smell wasn't completely gone, but Hiccup assumed it was enough to not have the Vikings react. After all, dragons had better smell than Vikings! As they walked, Hiccup noticed that Toothless was watching him. Nothing wrong with that of course, but he didn't stop; and Hiccup started to wonder why he was doing it.

"What?" he asked.

"You look sexy!" Toothless purred.

Hiccup laughed. "Me, sexy? Now that's a first timer!"

"Not for me. You've always had this invisible force that keeps dragging me towards you"

"Yeah, I've kind of notice that lately" Hiccup chuckled, with Toothless joining in.

As they made their way through the thick forest, Hiccup couldn't keep away the thought of how Toothless was able to let their conscious become one, sort of.

"You know, you seem to know a little about this mind reading thing" he started. "I mean, you couldn't just have merged our minds together unless you got some experience. You've been over this before?"

Toothless didn't answer immediately, and it took a brief moment before he spoke up.

"There are those who have the ability to break into other's mind, read their thoughts, and if they manage to go deep enough, also gain total control over that being. As hatchling I was trained to protect my own mind, creating a barrier around it that would keep others from getting in. However, it wasn't enough to protect me from the dragon queen."

"She could break into others mind?"

"Yes, that's the way all the dragons got enslaved, including me. She broke into our minds, thus gaining control over everyone. She knew everything about us, our dearest secrets and weaknesses. It was impossible to escape her grasp"

"Then what did you do to get away?"

"Nothing, you helped me." Toothless said smiling.

"Me?"

"When you shot me with that…thing, it must've broken the connection somehow. She has maybe tried to sense me again, but then it was too late. Being with you changed my whole personality, my whole being. I wasn't recognizable to her anymore, and I was free once again"

"It must have been hard, not having control over your own body"

"Painful it is" Toothless muttered.

"I'm sorry if I've pushed you too far" Hiccup said. "I didn't know it was this bad"

"It's okay" Toothless answered, forcing a smile.

They arrived to the village not long after, going straight for the fish bowl. But to Hiccup's great frustration, there were no fish. NO FISH!

"Gah! What's this all about? ! Do they want us to starve or what?" Hiccup exclaimed, and looked disappointed at the empty bowl.

"No wonder, it's been hours ago since they filled it" Toothless pointed out.

Hiccup walked up to the nearest Viking, who happened to be a normal teenager boy, not more than fifteen or so. Hiccup poked his back to get his attention. The boy jumped surprised and turned, meeting a pair of eyes at least 5 times the size of his own. "Fish!" Hiccup pleaded, releasing a long growl.

Obviously scared, the kid staggered to answer, but manage to recognize the dragon before him as Hiccup. "Oh ehe..h-hi Hiccup! Ehr, something I can uh..do for you?"

"I need food, now!" Hiccup repeated. Of course to the boy, this was only received as a series of growls. "Sorry Hiccup, b-but I have some difficulties understand what you mean" The young Viking nervously replied.

Oh, Hiccup had totally forgotten that! So, speaking with the same way he had always done with Toothless; by body language, Hiccup opened his mouth, trying his best to indicate that he wanted food. Now, first thing: never open your mouth right in front of a terrified young boy, especially with your teeth out! The poor victim of such an encounter, it's only obvious that he will think you're going to eat him… Then of course this resulted with the boy running down the village, his arms stretched out while screaming like a ten year old.

Disappointed, Hiccup returned at Toothless' side, who rolled his eyes at Hiccup's way of handling the situation.

"Wise move I must say!" Toothless chuckled.

"Shut up" Hiccup grunted. "I was desperate. All these earlier…actions have leaved my stomach as empty as this bowl"

" 'Actions' I hope soon will repeat itself" Toothless purred affectionate.

"Definitely" Hiccup answered, thinking back at it.

Another figure then chose to represent itself.

"Ohoy Hiccup!" Stoick roared, walking up to the two. "Looks like ye're late for breakfast! Pity that, but no worries! Luckily for you I got an extra bag here with cod, caught just this morning!"

Stoick tossed the bag in the bowl, fish streaming out of it. Hiccup's eyes immediately enlightened.

"Lusty eyes you got there, son!" Stoick laughed. "Eat all you want, it's just for you two! You should be happy that I even took time taking the bag all the way up here, but I'm in a happy mood today! A fine trade we did today with one of the other tribes. Stupid people they were, considering even tra-"

Stoick couldn't finish sentence, because the last bit of air got sucked out of him as Hiccup leapt at him, causing him to fall on his back. Hiccup continuously cuddled him while happy purrs loudly escaped him.

"Boy, you've gotten heavy!" Stoick hummed, giving Hiccup a few pats on his head. Hiccup stepped away from Stoick so he could get himself up. He burst some dust of his clothes, righted his Viking helmet before saying, "Now, before I make my leave, because a chief got a lot of duties ye know, I came to tell that ye're needed at the forge with Gobber. He said he needed yer flame again, and got something to tell you as well. You should get up too him after ye're done here."

Hiccup vigorously nodded, and didn't wait a moment longer before he engulfed himself as much fish he could. Stoick then turned to Toothless.

"As for you Toothless, you're free to do whatever you like. For saving my son, twice actually; you deserve treatment nothing less than the Gods themselves. And of course, looking out for Hiccup, so he doesn't do anything stupid"

They exchanged simple nods, common thing by them, before Stoick took his leave. Several minutes went past before Toothless suddenly sensed another presence. "Hiccup" he said.

"Not now" Hiccup replied between munches. "Eating time"

Toothless sighed and went for the thing that wouldn't get disturbed by annoying sounds, his mind.

"_We're being watched_" He said, this time between their unique connection. Hiccup's ears perked up as if the sound came from the outside. He looked at Toothless, who gestured him to look up the hill above them. There, steadied against one of the houses, an old lady stood watching down at them.

"Saga.." Hiccup said, a little surprised.

"Who's that?" Toothless asked.

"One of the elders," Hiccup explained. "But it's weird for her to be outside like this. It's rare to see her anywhere but inside her home, or at a meeting actually. She's known as the silent speaker. She never shows herself unless something is about to happen. Some say she even can see into the future, but I doubt it. Still, now that Saga's out, something's bound to happen"

"When does she usually appear?" Toothless asked, looking suspiciously up at her. He smelled the scent of her, and it felt…different from the other humans.

"The last time I remember must've been when the last dragon raid occurred. Now that those don't happen anymore, I wonder what's going to take place this time"

"It looks like she doesn't take her gaze from us" Toothless whispered. "Think it got something with us?"

Toothless didn't think of this as some ordinary old human. There was something different with this one, she certainly smelled different!

Hiccup chuckled and shook his head. "Nah, I don't think so. You can never be certain about anything when it comes to Saga. She's a mystery to everyone"

She didn't move before Hiccup and Toothless was done eating, slipping through the alley between the houses and disappeared. Hiccup and Toothless thought of it no longer, and made their way up Gobber's forge. Inside they were greeted by the Viking with interchangeable hands, at least as much happy as Stoick had been!

"'Ey Hiccup, my fiery apprentice!" He welcomed. "Come closer, come closer; I got something extra special to show you today" When he had gotten them where he wanted, he stopped them. "Okay, just wait there, I'll be right back!"

Then he hurried further into the forge. Noises and scrambling could be heard in the room Gobber went in. Hiccup and Toothless exchanged confused looks, wondering what the smith could be so enthusiastic about.

"Now where did I put those old swords... by Thor what a mess this i-OOH there's one!"

Gobber return with two swords; one sheathed, the other not. Gobber brought the unsheathed sword up to Hiccup, so he could take a better look at it.

" See here, just a normal sword, right? Nothing special about it. I mean, for Vikings of course. It's a masterpiece by normal standards; much better than what any Romans or any other, less significant people can even dream about to forge…." Gobber spoke away, clearly lost in his own arguments. Hiccup stared at him with a look that clearly indicated "What are you getting at?" which stopped Gobber once he noticed.

"Right" he mumbled, "to the point. The sword you just saw was one of the old ones made. After I started forging with your blue flame though, something else happened"

He unsheathed the other sword from the scabbard, placing it at the table beside him. " Look at this beauty!" he proudly presented.

Hiccup's eyes widened at the sight of it. Before him was a sword unlike anything he had ever seen! The blade wasn't of the ordinary gray color. Before him lay a sword, its blade covered in dark blue!

"Fantastic isn't it!" Gobber grinned. "And look at this!"

He picked it up and started waving it. As Gobber moved the sword about, the color of the blade would shimmer and shift, displaying all the blue colors Hiccup could think of!

"All this because of you flame. It must be something magically about ye creatures!"

"_If you only knew_" Hiccup though. He'd love to comment, but in his form he couldn't. Gobber didn't seem to bother, his eyes sparkling as he looked at the sword.

"And that is not the best part" He exclaimed. "Watch this!"

He steadied the sword, and focused on the working table before him. Then he struck it with a downward attack, the blade slicing through the wooden material as it was nothing but air!

"See that? !" Gobber roared in enthusiasm. "Cut it right in two like it was made of thin paper!"

Hiccup looked at it with amazement. Even Toothless seemed to take interest in the metal's abilities.

"With this we'll be unstoppable! We'll be legends once others acknowledge us with these extraordinary weapons. A new metal, who would've thought? I should give name to my discovery! Like, Gobber's super metal! No, that's too dumb. More like, Gobber's metal of fury: weapons more awesome than the Gods'! No no, that's too long.."

And so he went on. "_It was really my flame that did it_" Hiccup thought. But he could let the bulky Viking have this one. He was so happy too, and Hiccup didn't want to ruin any of it.

"We must make more!" Gobber suddenly said, interrupting his own, rather awkward name suggestions. "We must make weapons for the whole tribe! Let's get to work!"

And then Gobber would keep Hiccup at the forge the whole day, not even letting him take any breaks! By the end of the day Hiccup was too tired to even utter a single word, and fell right down on the floor in his room once he got in. Toothless curled around Hiccup, transferring a little of his own energy through the connection to him, before he too fell asleep.

**-{[S]}-**

Hiccup woke fully rested next morning. Toothless did as well, not wanting to let him out of sight.

"This time you're not going anywhere without me" he assured.

"Neither do I want to" Hiccup smiled back. He knew Toothless couldn't stand having him around neither people nor dragons, especially Astrid. Jealous he is, Hiccup thought and grinned for himself.

"_You know I can clearly hear you_" Toothless pointed out in his head.

"_Crap…_"

Hiccup had forgotten that. He really needs to stop forgetting things... Come to think of it, he hadn't seen Astrid since their last encounter in the woods. Maybe she was avoiding him? That was just fine by him anyway, and probably best for her too, if she didn't want some serious injury.

"Anything else you want to point out before we step out?" Hiccup asked dryly.

"Yeah, stop thinking of Astrid. The mentioning of her name is irritating my mind!"

_*sigh*_

Later that day, while Toothless took a nap outside their house, Hiccup decided to use the opportunity to get to know the other dragons in the village a little better. A too overprotective mate had given him little time to do this, so Hiccup thought now would be the best time. He had studied the different dragons quite a bit, and they were all different in behavior. Gronckles were the lazy ones, bathing in sunlight when chances given. Although they greeted him kindly, they weren't much talkative. They preferred letting themselves transfer to the world of dreams, like if they didn't have a care in the world.

The Zipplebacks would talk alright, but it always ended with the two heads arguing with each other, no matter what the subject was! This led to a fight Hiccup quickly withdrew from, not wanting to get involved. They reminded him of the twins, so having a Zippleback as their dragon was definitely a perfect match for them.

The Nadders was usually too important cleaning their scales to even take notice of him. They were extremely proud dragons, and wanted to show off themselves as best as they could.

The Terrible Terrors was the least smartest of all the dragon species, but still intelligent. For Hiccup it seemed like they never really reached adulthood, not the way they acted at least. They jumped around playfully, and reminded Hiccup very much of the young Vikings in the village. They were eager with the talking, telling Hiccup all sorts of stories they'd experienced, that he could hardly catch up with what they said! He got a warm feeling as they moved on by telling how thankful they were for saving them from the dragon queen's grasp, often referring him to as the "dragon savior".

"The little ones are right about what they tell you" a voice said, as a Monstrous Nightmare stepped up beside him. It was Fireworm, Snotlout's dragon. The largest of the dragon species on their island and dominant over the others. Except for Toothless of course. To Hiccup, it looked like Fireworm was the leader over the dragons, taking care of the others whenever needed, and broke up fights when those occurred. When someone got a problem of a sort, they would go to Fireworm for advice, and she'd provide them with one.

"Well, I couldn't have done it without Toothless," Hiccup answered. "He was really the one that did most of it"

"Nonsense" Fireworm chuckled. "You were the mind behind the plan weren't you? Without your aid, the war would still rage to this day"

"I guess so" Hiccup simply replied.

"Then give yourself some credit for once; you deserve it" She smiled. "It's a reason we call _you_the dragon savior, not Toothless."

"_I suppose she's right about that_" Hiccup thought to himself

"Thank you" he said, smiling back.

"None required! We are in our debt to you. If you ever need any help, make voice and you will see it done"

"I'll make sure to keep that in mind" Hiccup promised.

The sun had set itself high in the sky, and Hiccup assumed it was around midday. This was the busiest time of the day, and everyone was outside doing their chores, jobs or whatever tasks his father had given them. The dragons were mostly napping on the roofs, except for those who were needed by their rider.

"So Hiccup, how are you handling your new form?" Fireworm asked. "I hope it doesn't hurt you being like this?"

"Oh, no really it's not" Hiccup answered. "Sure there were some complications in the beginning, but I'm quickly becoming used to it"

"That's good" Fireworm said, and while dropping her head down to his level, added; "Sure smelled like it too", and then she released a deep humming sound inside her belly.

"What?" Hiccup asked, not quite getting it.

"Oh you know, when you two came trotting into the village last morning"

"Wow wow! You say you know?" Hiccup asked, his eyes widening in surprise. His secret was already discovered? He blushed in embarrassment.

Fireworm chuckled. "The right question should be; how could I not? The smell was impossible to escape! I would be more surprised if the other dragons in the village did not know of this already"

"Great, so everybody knows now" Hiccup sighed. "So how are they and uh...you reacting to our decision?"

"It was expected" Fireworm said calmly. "Oh don't give me that bewildered look; have you seen how you two are always sticking together? It was destined to happen sooner or later, neither gender nor differences can stop the power of love. As long as you're happy together, there should be nothing else that prevents you from being so"

"Thanks for the calming words; I'm glad you're all accepting this so easily. When it comes to my dad though, I don't think I can ever let him know." There was a little disappointment between the last words in Hiccup's voice. "He'd kill Toothless without hesitation, or die in the attempt. The latter most likely"

"You're race can be very foolish" snorted Fireworm.

"That, and too proud to show off their soft side…if they have any at all," Hiccup muttered. "If he only could see through the barriers of violent nature that's clouding his mind…"

"Even though he's your father, always think about the orders he's giving you. I know he means you all good and no harm, but the violence of your people tends to break through them pretty easily" Fireworm said.

"I've kind of been having that as a habit already" Hiccup chuckled. Fireworm joined in as well.

"I'm guessing since you're here alone, Toothless is not aware of it?" she wondered.

"Yes. If not now, I left him while he was sleeping" Hiccup answered.

"Well that explains it. Now..." she said, nudging him slightly, "you should maybe think about going back to your mate then; I'm sure even in his dreaming state he's missing your presence" She smiled.

Hiccup wouldn't be surprised if that was true. They made farewell before he set direction for his house, towards Toothless. As he did, he couldn't help but notice the figure in the corner of his eye. He turned his head to identify who it was. It was Saga, again; just standing still like last time, with the same unreadable face gazing at him. Her eyes were following his every step, and the thought of what Toothless had said returned to him. "_Could it really be us it got something with?"_

He let the thought pass and continued his pace; she was probably just interested in his new form anyway. Still, he would be a tad bit more aware in case she would continue looking at them this odd way.

**-{[S]}-**

A week first passed, and it mostly went like normal. Unfortunately for Gobber, he needed to stop the making of the new weapons after he announced his metal to Stoick. He's opinion was that the weapons worn too much value, and would only fit a person in a position like...well, like himself. "The lesser the quantity is, the bigger the value would be" Stoick had said.

He commanded Gobber and Hiccup to make a hammer of the same metal for himself to wear, and let the remaining being locked up. Although it saddened Hiccup to see Gobber such disappointed, the bright side of this was that he now was out of work, and that of course meant more free time! Not surprisingly, all of it was spent with Toothless. All week Hiccup went with Toothless to practice his underwater skills. And yes it was harder than he had thought. He took the swimming technique in just a couple of days, but catching fish was downright impossible! His failures were of much amusement to Toothless though. By the end of the week he had yet to have any self caught meal.

Saga had not stopped her looking either. She never took her eyes of them, never spoke; just stood there beside a house not far away with a stick to steady herself, which by the way is why the normal week only went _mostly_ like normal. One time they had tried to follow her, but she would just slip through an alleyway and vanish out of thin air. The second week was no different from the first. Hiccup would now agree with Toothless that her appearance outside her little house was caused because of them somehow. The only thing they could do was wait and see what'd happen.

When the moon was the lighting source in the sky, and before the sun had set its mark for a new week, an opportunity would represent itself for Hiccup. After finally convincing Toothless that he only wanted some fresh night air, he had stepped out and spotted Saga standing on the very same hill he had shot down Toothless. She was looking over the ocean before her, with her back against Hiccup.

"_At least now she's gazing anywhere but at me_" he thought. It didn't seem like she had noticed his presence, so Hiccup tried sneaking a bit closer to her. "_If I could only manage to reduce the distance a little bit more_…"

"I know you're there Hiccup; it's pointless continuing sneaking up on me" she suddenly spoke up, her voice sounding scrawny.

"_How did she know?"_ Hiccup though. "_I couldn't even hear my own footsteps_..."

Hiccup walked up beside her and sat down. At least she didn't make any attempt to leave.

"Your interference is caused by your curiosity is it not?" She asked, still looking over the horizon.

Hiccup nodded.

"Cannot blame you for it though, I admit I have been rather noticeable around you for quite some time. But everything comes with a reason, as do my actions. I will still your curiosity young Hiccup, but only to a limited extent. I will only tell what I feel comfortable with, the rest I will keep to myself. Certain things are best to go unspoken, understood?"

Again Hiccup nodded.

"Good," she said. "Now, you may not know much about me, nor do anyone in the village. Only a handful of people in this world do. But I know much about you young Hiccup, a lot more than you probably think. I have been watching you ever since you came to this world, and I knew the moment you were born, that there was something special about you. Which you have already proven by the way"

"But why?" Hiccup questioned himself.

"That I am getting at, Hiccup" Saga grunted.

"What? You can understand me?" Hiccup asked in astonishment. Saga had maybe thought his question was directed at her, not to himself.

"Yes, but before you ask something else..." She answered firmly; Hiccup had already opened his mouth, "I will remind you of what I just said. There are some facts I will keep to myself, this is one of them"

Hiccup shut his mouth, chagrined.

"That is better. Anyhow, the reason comes with the feeling that you are destined for something more, young Hiccup. You have already proven yourself a hero amongst the people here in the village, but it does not stop there. Your life is meant to be lived not only on this small island, but beyond it! I have always had the feeling that your one day would leave this island. I have watched you every day now for two weeks because, I feel that day is nearly here"

"_I'm to leave this island?"_ Hiccup thought surprised. "_I don't want that! I don't want to leave my tribe, my family, my friends.._"

"I don't understand..." he said.

"In situations like this, few does" Saga answered. "It seems like the Gods themselves have put interests in you, and now they got plans. Even I do not know what's going to happen for certain, I am only telling this so that you can be more prepared for it when the time occurs"

"When?" Hiccup asked.

"Hard to tell" Saga sighed. "By 'near' it could be anything from within minutes to several weeks, maybe months"

She now looked up at Hiccup for the first time this night, and smiled.

"Now look at you, growing faster than what any Viking has! A fine young dragon you are, a creature one should have highly respect for. Pity the world just do not know it yet"

"Being a dragon has its benefits" Hiccup agreed.

"Yes, you two make a great pair" Saga calmly said.

Hiccup stiffened. "You've been spying?" he exclaimed.

"No, but I have my ways" she grinned.

Hiccup had walked up to Saga with only one question in his mind. On his way back to his room, he had more he could even count!

"Still my curiosity to a limited extent…she's only made it bigger!" Hiccup thought to himself. The rest of the night, his mind was filled with too many thoughts that he could hardly get any sleep.

**-{[S]}-**

"You said only fresh air" Toothless sighed, as they were walking through the forest; not really conscious about where they were going. Nevertheless, it always seemed like they were dragged against the cove by some force pulling them. Many memories had been shared there. It was _their_ place, _their_ home.

"But I couldn't just let the opportunity slip" Hiccup protested. "I know you're just as curious as I am, you'd done the same"

Toothless snorted. Yeah, he would…

"So what do you think?" Hiccup asked. "You know, by what she said"

"She's different from the others" Toothless answered.

"Yeah, she's an elder" Hiccup explained.

"No, not by that" Toothless stopped him. "Haven't you smelled her? Or felt the strong energy that she bears? This is definitely not any ordinary human, Hiccup"

Hiccup thought about it. "I've always been aware that she wasn't like the other elders, but never this way"

"Whatever she is" Toothless said, "we should take her words seriously, and act with caution. But know this Hiccup; if her words speak of truth and you are to leave this island, know that I will never leave you. If you set your course away from this island, so will I...one way or another"

"As much as you know that I'd never leave you" Hiccup replied warmly, and they both smiled.

After a moment of affectionate gazing, Toothless grin only widened as he said; "Of course, how would you get off this island anyway? You can't fly and you can hardly swim. By boat? Hah! I can picture that one!"

Then he jumped like a rabbit a few meters away from Hiccup, stopping to look back at him, his tail wiggling playfully. Hiccup was a little surprised by the sudden mood swing, but quickly got the message. He bent down and prepared to take a run at Toothless.

"You're going to pay for that" he smirked, and then raced towards him.

Toothless made no intention to move. Instead, he steadied himself, preparing for Hiccup's impact. Hiccup jumped at Toothless, causing them both to start rolling down the hill Toothless had placed himself in front of. While rolling down, both parts struggled to have the upper part, but that was more or less impossible as long as they kept rolling. Dizziness could be felt in both heads, and Hiccup had a hard time knowing what was up and down. Suddenly there was no ground under them, and Hiccup realized that they were I midair. No fear caught him though; he knew exactly where they were! They both laughed as gravity pulled them towards the lake beneath them, placing them under the water where they had bathed so many times before. Hiccup was the first one out of it, although it didn't give him much of an advantage. Toothless shot out from the liquid element and sprinted after him. He was much faster than Hiccup, catching easily up as they ran across the cove. Tired of running, Toothless tackled Hiccup and pinned him to the ground. Hiccup laughed and loosened his muscles, admitting his defeat. He opened his eyes, meeting Toothless' merely inches from his. So much joy, warmth and care radiated from them, shining and appearing brighter than the sun itself! Then another emotion chose to visit their minds, growing stronger as they kept looking at each other. They both knew, their connection hid nothing from each other; neither thoughts nor feelings. They simply waited for the other part to give the signal. At last, Hiccup was the one to break it.

"Oh Toothless just take me already!" he pleaded.

"On it!" Toothless instantly said, immediately responding to the words he just waited for to hear.

**-{[S]}-**

"Come on Astrid, are you really being serious about this?" Ruffnut asked.

"Yeah, why the stubborn mood all of a sudden?" Tuffnut added.

"I don't think this is such a good idea, Astrid" Fishlegs piped.

"They're right" Snotlout said, "It's time to let him go. Turn around and come back with us, maybe even joining me at my basement so we could work out" A cocky grin formed his face.

But they're complaints didn't stop Astrid from marching through the forest, towards the cove. After having enough of all this whining, she turned around and cast an angry glare at each and one of them.

"I'm not changing my mind!" she growled.

"Astrid, Hiccup's a dragon!" Tuffnut exclaimed, "a DRAGON!"

"I have to agree with my brother on this one" Ruffnut said. "You can't continue believing that you can still share what you two had; he's one of them now"

"No, you're wrong" Astrid said. "Hiccup got turned into a dragon. If that's possible, he can also be turned back"

She waved with her arms in the air; "Simple logic!"

And then she continued stomping through branches and trees. She had thought about it, and figured out it couldn't be Hiccup's fault for the way he acted. It's Toothless fault. He had twisted Hiccup's mind, making him into something he's not. If she only was able to talk with him again, she could maybe win him back. And that was exactly what she was going to do right now.

The gang followed of course; they didn't want miss this. Whatever that'd happen, it'd probably turn to their amusement. They were nearing the cove when Astrid looked at them a second time.

"And don't try to stop me. Just stay here and keep your mouths shut!"

Then she sneaked up to the top of the cove, and froze. She just stood there like a statue, completely still. The others looked bewildered up at her.

"What is she doing?" Ruffnut whispered.

"Has she seen a troll?"

"Let's find out!" Snotlout said, and then they sneaked up beside Astrid. Not surprisingly, they froze as well. Down in the cove was indeed Hiccup and Toothless, but what they never expected was to see them doing something of a more…intimate nature.

"By heaven of Åsgard.."

"Wow, just wow!"

"I knew they had a close friendship, but…this?"

Hiccup and Toothless didn't seem to notice that they had an audience watching them; they were too busy.

"You go Hiccup!" Tuffnut cheered in a whispering tone. Ruffnut slapped him for his stupidity.

"Are you out of you mind" she hissed. "Just think about how Astrid feels about this"

"Oh" Tuffnut said, remembering, and looked over at Astrid's spot.

But it was empty.

"Where is she anyway?" He asked.

The other looked as well, and gave each other confused looks.

"Seeing this was probably too much for her" muttered Ruffnut.

**-{[S]}-**

Astrid ran as fast as her legs could carry her. She couldn't let her friends watch her like this, they could never! She ran up to her house and slammed the door behind her, throwing herself onto the bed and poured her head in the pillow. And she cried and she cried. "_Why would Hiccup do something like this?"_she screamed in her head. The more she thought about, the more it sickened her. "He….and with Toothless!" she stammered. She wouldn't believe this, yet it was true. She can't run away from the truth, she'd seen them; and it was perfectly clear what she saw. What would the rest think of her now? Certainly not the tough girl she was known for, not after all this. Her world had been shattered, turned upside down. She could not think about this anymore, and she cried herself into sleep.

**-{[S]}-**

Astrid woke up feeling like she had climbed an entire mountain. She released a moan and put a hand against her head as she felt the headache worsen by her movements. She looked out her window and noticed that it was dark. How long had she slept? As the reason for her nap dawned on her once again, she felt like crying again. But she didn't. No tears, no saddening thoughts. It was all suddenly replaced by anger. Her eyes bulged and she could feel the veins on her forehead pulse. Hiccup was going to pay for this. He was going to suffer for the pain he had caused her.

She straightened herself up and walked quietly out of the house, picking up her battle axe along the way. As she was out, she observed her weapon, the metal shimmering by the moonlight. She placed a finger on one of the edges, running it down gently to feel its sharpness. An evil grin formed her face. Making sure no one was out at this time that could follow her, she moved with quick steps towards the forest, devoured by the darkness once she was in. It was almost impossible to see where she was going, but her poor vision concerned her little. She knew the way inside out. She reached the cove less in less than half an hour. She had set her mind to the task. Killing Hiccup would seem satisfying at first, but she figured it he would suffer even more if she chose Toothless to be met by her fearsome axe. Once it was done, the sudden action would probably cause much confusion to Hiccup, giving her time to escape. She was fast, and if she could reach the village in time, she'd be safe. Hiccup wouldn't dare do her something with the whole tribe as audience.

She sneaked with light steps when she neared the opening. She observed the cove, but could see neither of the two dragons. "_Damn, they must be sleeping in the shadows_" she cursed. With their body covered in black scales, they would blend in perfectly. But that didn't stop her from looking. She crouched slowly around the cove, keeping a sharp eye out for anything that could resemble the body of a Night Fury. When she was a quarter of the way around it, she stopped. She heard breathing, heavy breathing. And it was right beneath her! She crawled up to the edge and looked down. She couldn't see anything, but the source of the breathing was definitely under her. They were there! She backed away a bit, hesitating a little. Should she go for it, relying on luck? Was it too much of a risk? She thought about it for a moment. They were big creatures, even if she jumped completely blind; there was still a big chance that she was going to hit one of them, somewhere. But she wasn't guaranteed a kill. Should she do it? "_Yes…yeah, I have to try"_she thought to herself. She hadn't come this way only to chicken out. That was so not her. "_Yes, this has to be done. He will not go unpunished"_she finalized to herself. She crept up to the edge again, and exhaled deeply. She took a good grip around her axe, readying herself. It was now or never. If she hesitated more now, she might not do it. She let her mind remember her of why she had come here in the first place, what Hiccup had done. With these thoughts, she jumped, releasing a loud Viking cry as she fell down, her axe pointing downwards.

**-{[S]}-**

A thunderous roar echoed the forest. It could probably be heard big parts of the island, definitely by the villagers in Berk! Toothless screamed in pain, turning around and moved violently, all out of control. His tail struck Astrid in the chest, knocking the air out of her and sent her flying several meters. Her battle axe slipped from her grip, flying in a direction unknown to her. She hit the ground hard and could barely keep herself conscious! Toothless wriggled on the ground, unbelievable pain emitting from his tail. Hiccup jumped up all confused, feeling Toothless' pain and screamed out in agony as well. His pupils were changed into mere slits, a colossal combination of energy and anger building up in him. His brain worked on hyper drive, desperately trying to get hold of the situation. "PAIN! HURT! TOOTHLESS! WHERE!" he screeched. He's vision was blurry, and he looked all around him for anything that was causing this painful and chaotic situation. Still with his blurry vision, he caught hold of the body that was Astrid, and his eyes locked dead on it! Astrid or not, he didn't knew. He had lost all control over his body, and ran with all his might towards the slowly moving body on the ground. "PAIN! ENEMY! MURDERER!" Hiccup roared uncontrolled while running, he's teeth fully out. Astrid had barely come to her senses when she saw the dragon, she did not know which of them, running towards her at with a speed her eyes couldn't follow. She wildly moved her hands around the ground for her axe, but to her horror it was not there! She looked up in fear, watching the Night Fury leaping at her only a couple of meters away. The look on its face was the most frightening thing she had ever seen, revealing the true offspring of lightning and death. Panic gripped her and she screamed as high as she had ever done!

**-{[S]}-**

Hiccup set his teeth in the side of the human body, immediately getting the taste of blood. Astrid's scream only increased as Hiccup's teeth poured deeper into her flesh, crushing several of her rib bones. The pain was unbearable to her! Feeling he had a good grip, Hiccup wildly shook his prey, trying to shake the life out of this pain-causing thing! "ENEMY!" he screeched while he continued to shook Astrid, her horrifying screams slowly fading as her mind started to do the same. With powerful force, Hiccup threw her away, sending her flying across the cove and into the wall, sure to break more bones. Astrid hit the ground lifeless, her body covered in her own blood.

Hiccup gasped, and looked down on the ground while inhaling and exhaling deeply. His senses slowly started to return, and he looked over to his mate. Toothless was still in much pain, but also started to gain more control over himself.

"Toothless!" Hiccup screamed, and ran over to him. He quickly analyzed Toothless body, and noticed what had caused the pain. Something had sliced right through Toothless' tail, chopping off a big part of it. The other tailfin was now gone too! Hiccup bent down and tried to lick the wound, hoping it'd ease the pain somehow. Toothless growled, but Hiccup felt some of the pain subside a tiny bit.

"Are you alright?" Hiccup whined worriedly.

"I think so" Toothless uttered. "Continue to lick the wound; dragon saliva has a small healing effect, and will weaken the pain"

Hiccup obliged with no hesitation. As he did, he thought back from moments before, getting the thought that he had actually killed Astrid. This was no time to panic though; the only thing that mattered now was to help Toothless.

"Hiccup" a new voice said. Expecting a new threat Hiccup jumped up and growled at the entrance of the cove. Saga stood there, leaning at the stick she always carried around.

"Get away! Don't come closer!" Hiccup hissed at her.

Saga stood at her place, unaffected by the warning. With a calm voice she said, "If you wish for Toothless to hurt no more, you will listen to me"

Hiccup continued to growl at her. He couldn't trust anybody now, not after what Astrid had just done. "_Listen to her_" Toothless said through the connection, he's voice weak. Hiccup looked worried down at Toothless.

"_Are you sure?"_he asked.

"_I think so. Right now we don't have much of a choice. Let her speak_"

Hiccup returned his look at Saga and gave her a nod as a confirmation to continue.

"Wise choice" She smiled. It faded a bit as she saw the dead body of Astrid at the other end of the cove. "Poor girl" she muttered. "Love can be good thing, but also a deadly poison. Especially when it's pointed at yourself…"

She shook her head. "It ended with becoming too much for her, but now she can finally rest in peace". Saga turned her attention to Toothless, noticing his tail, or what was left of it. "Let me take a look at that wound"

Hiccup moved a bit too give her room, eyeing her all the time. She took a close look at it, before sighing.

"This will probably affect his balance as well" she said. Hiccup's worried look deepened.

"But nothing that can't be fixed" She muttered.

"You can heal this?" Hiccup asked surprised. A spark of hope lightened inside him.

She hesitated, but answered; "Yes…but it comes with a prize, as most things does. Young Hiccup, before I do any of this, I need to know that I'm doing the right thing. Now, do you really love Toothless?" she asked in a dead serious tone.

"Yes, of course!" Hiccup exclaimed.

"And would you do anything to save him?" She asked.

"I'd do anything without hesitation" Hiccup answered quickly. If this elder was able to heal Toothless, he would do anything she commanded! Even if that meant that he had to chop off his own tail.

Saga seemed satisfied with the answers. "Good" she said, and looked down at Toothless again. "I am going to put you to sleep now. That way you will not feel any pain as I heal the wound. I will wake you up once it is done"

Toothless nodded slowly.

She bent down, and put a hand over Toothless head. "Verda" she uttered in a language Hiccup couldn't understand. Toothless eye lids slowly slid together, and he fell asleep.

"A witch" Hiccup gasped.

"I'd prefer magician" Saga grunted. "Witches and Wizards get their power from various spells and potions, which I do not". She moved over to Toothless' tail and started to speak in the same incomprehensible language as before. "Heilú ati dragoniens sále, un frii ene tofár jierden" she said. As the words had escaped her mouth, the tail to Toothless started to grow back again! It didn't take more than a couple of seconds, and it was all grown back, like nothing had happened. And with two tailfins as well! Hiccup looked with wide eyes and joy, but it changed to confusion as he saw that Saga was shaking with her whole body. She looked up at him and forced forth a smile.

"My prize…" She said, and had trouble standing up. Hiccup quickly walked over to her so she could use him as support. Saga accepted the help gratefully, and looked at him again.

"This magic has weakened me, Hiccup. I am afraid all my energy is soon gone, but do not take guilt by it! I have prepared for this, and it is time"

She then put her hands on Hiccup's face, drawing him closer to her. "Listen carefully. The village will soon be here, they have definitely heard the screams. And believe me, Stoick will misunderstand what has happened here, and put the blame on you and Toothless. My time is over, but I know someone else who can help." She took off a white amulet she had carried around her neck and placed it over Hiccup's. "This is a very special amulet, Hiccup. It has a twin, and they are constantly pulling themselves to each other. The owner of the other amulet is a young man who once was my apprentice, and a very good friend of mine. This amulet will lead you to him, and he will help you settle this problem once he knows the message comes from me. You understand Hiccup? You have to leave this island and find him"

Hiccup nodded, extremely focused to gain all bits of information. Saga turned to Toothless and uttered, "Varde". She then turned back to Hiccup, looking almost like she was about to faint, but pulled herself together. She gazed with serious eyes at him.

"All that we love becomes a part of us" she said, her voice shaking. "Toothless is a part of you, Hiccup. Losing him will cause you to lose a part of yourself. Protect him with your life; because without him, you will find life hardly worth living"

Hiccup could only nod, he was without words. Toothless had just woken up from the short sleep, and picked himself up.

"Now go" Saga whispered, before falling to the ground, with the last bit of life she had left fading from her.

Hiccup looked at her helplessly, and suddenly felt emotional affected. She had given her life to save Toothless', a dragon she barely even knew! Hiccup looked at her, then at Astrid. This has caused a Hel of a scene. Astrid's dead, and now Saga's dead. She was right, there was no way he could explain this situation to his dad; this would look too obvious to him! He and Toothless needed to escape the island and that fast! At least he could follow the words Saga had said to him, so that her sacrifice wasn't for nothing.

Toothless walked up Hiccup, who smiled back. "You're alright!" He purred, and placed his head around Toothless', as if to hug.

"So I am" He murmured.

"Your face…" Hiccup said, "what is it?"

"Mixed feelings really" Toothless answered, shrugging. "In one part I can't express my joy that I now have a completely healed tail, but the other part…"

He looked down at Saga. "..She gave her life to save mine, thought I don't know her at all"

Hiccup watched Saga's necklace around his neck. The amulet was an oval shaped, white polished stone with only a thin layer of what looked like silver around it. He turned his gaze to Toothless again, a determined expression on his face. "Then let's make sure she didn't do this sacrifice for nothing. Toothless, we really need to get off this island, and that before the tribe discover this event"

Hiccup quickly retold Toothless what had happen while he had slept, explaining the bit that they needed do find this apprentice if they ever wished to return here. Toothless listened carefully, and understood. "_So it's happening after all_" he thought. He looked at Hiccup, and gestured that he should follow him.

"Come, I know a way!" He said, and then they hurried away.

**-{[S]}-**

"If...you told me…about this…back in the cove...I'd dragged you to a Viking ship right away" Hiccup gasped.

"Don't be such a fool" Toothless laughed. "There's no way a dragon can steer a ship. Besides, it'd look ridiculous, we have wings!"

"I'd still prefer a ship than my wings" Hiccup grumbled. It wasn't as if he didn't like it; quite the opposite! He loved flying…as long as it was on Toothless' back.

"I can't even fly!" he yelled at Toothless.

"In a couple of minutes, you will!" Toothless smiled down at him. "_Flying!"_he thought himself. Oh how he had missed it, and now he was finally able to set to the sky again!

Hiccup followed Toothless gaze and looked down. Oh Gods they were so high up! It must be several hundred meters down! Hiccup took an extra good grip at the mountain side he was desperately holding on to. Luckily his claws were excellent for climbing. He could see a bunch of torches moving in a group not very far from the cove. Soon his father would discover the dead bodies.

"This should work" he heard Toothless say above him. He had climbed up on a flat area, not more than 2-3 meters wide.

Hiccup dragged himself up beside Toothless, and gave him a stare. "You know I hate you for this?" he grunted.

"I know" Toothless said cheerfully and smiled.

They walked slowly alongside the small path, and it didn't take long before it curved a bit out from the mountain, and then stopped in a dead end. As they walked up to it, Hiccup stared at the horizon. The sun was about to rise from the ocean, it was almost morning. Toothless looked down the edge before him, staring down what must've been five hundred meters straight down. "Perfect" He said satisfied.

Hiccup dared to take a look down. He got a shivered feeling, and clung on to Toothless for safety.

"Not at all!" Hiccup exclaimed. "Oh Toothless don't make me do this!"

Hiccup looked at Toothless, who grinned at him. The grin widened, and widened, until the big smirk covered his whole face. It sent another shiver down Hiccup's spine.

"Oh no, I don't like that look you have Toothless"

Toothless still stared at him with that smile.

"Toothless listen! I'm going to die, alright? There's no way I can do this!"

*Still giving Hiccup the same expression*

And then he did the unexpected. He pushed me from the edge! Pushed me! Before I could register it I was in midair.

Toothless grinned widely at himself and jumped happily after Hiccup. It was going to be so great feeling the air under his wings once again! How long would it take Hiccup before he'd extend his wings? Toothless counted to himself.

"One…two…three…f-"

*SWOOSH*

**-{[S]}-**

"Mighty Thor, what have happened here?" Gobber gasped, changing looks between the two bodies. Stoick walked quietly over to Saga, placing a hand over her forehead. He sighed. Others had run over to Astrid to check on her. "Gods, what've happened to her, she's a mess" they mumbled to each other. Gobber walked over to Stoick as he picked himself up. He studied Saga.

"Not even a scratch. What do ye think happened to her?" Gobber asked, cautious with his words.

"Does it matter?" Stoick growled. "We already know whose fault it is"

"Look, the traitors are escaping!" A Viking yelled, pointing at the sky. Everyone looked up. Far up there, glided two dragons, their color making them easy to be seen by the pink morning sky. They were heading south, it seemed. To where, they could only imagine.

"Doing something like this, I would never have thought! And yer son too…unbelievable" Gobber muttered while looking at the two.

"He's not my son" Stoick grumbled. Gobber looked at him with doubtful eyes.

"You've already said that once before, and took it back" he said.

"This is different!" Stoick growled. He looked up at the two figures. "He's different! Just look at him! Ever seen a Viking fly by himself?"

Stoick was taking this hard. Tears gathered in the corners of his eyes, but they never fell. "No, my boy disappeared the day he chose the life of a dragon"

He gave a last glance at them before the trees blocked his vision from them. He then examined his surroundings, and inhaled deeply.

"Gather the bodies!" He commanded. "Take them back to the village; I want the funerals to be ready by the evening"

What should've been just another morning, turned out to be one of the worst for the villagers of Berk. They would not take these losses well…


	7. Chapter 7 Journy

"Are you alright Hiccup?" Toothless asked, a worried look clearly showing in his face.

Hiccup looked back at the island that got smaller for every beating with his wings. Berk, his home, his father…he was leaving it, and in the worst way possible! He was probably banished from the tribe already, seeing the way he had left it all. If he ever returns, it'd be as an outcast. "Outcast…" Hiccup whispered to himself. The word did not fit in his mouth. It was a title he believed he didn't deserve, but nevertheless was placed upon him.

"Not really" Hiccup muttered to Toothless.

He should've been happy instead. Flying was the best thing in the world, and now Toothless could do it all by himself again, and he as well! It should've been a joyful day, but it was far from it. The current events had ruined what should've been one of their happiest days of their lives. But it was a sorrowful day, and Hiccup was at the edge of getting drowned by it.

Toothless understood, and didn't ask for anything more. Doing this must've been very hard for Hiccup. He was leaving almost all he had cherished. Talking more about it would most likely only worsen his mood.

Now, Toothless was the only thing he had left. He was going to become very important to Hiccup for the following days. In a time like this, the best thing he could have now was his mate at his side, and his full support. It was Toothless' responsibility, and he'd do his best to get Hiccup up from this pit he was stuck in.

When the sun went down, so did they. A small island beneath them would prove a fine place to settle for the night. While Toothless went out for hunting, Hiccup remained in the small cave they had found. Toothless returned before an hour had passed, a roe between his teeth, but Hiccup didn't feel hungry at all. Toothless pushed the dead deer over to Hiccup, and whined.

"You need to eat something, Hiccup" he said with a low and worried voice.

Hiccup walked closer and looked down at the motionless roe. He hesitated. He had too much on his mind to think about food. "I'm not hungry" he said, and started walking further into the cave.

"But Hiccup-"

"I'M NOT HUNGRY!" He screamed. Toothless looked at him with a sad expression.

Hiccup's eyes widened as he realized his insolence. "Toothless I'm sorry! I didn't mean to-"

He cut himself off, his whole body shaking. "_I act without thinking. This isn't me, this isn't me at all!_"

Hiccup's muscles failed him and he fell down on the ground, bursting into tears. Toothless trotted slowly over and settled down with him, placing a comfortable wing over his body. "Why me? Why now?" Hiccup sobbed, referring to no one in particular.

"It's going to be alright," Toothless said reassuringly. "Just let it all out, and let's hope for a better day tomorrow"

Toothless woke up before Hiccup. Yawning, he stared out of the cave. Farther up for any trees to block the view, Toothless was able to see the entire ocean. The sun had yet to appear on the sky, but it wasn't long until it would. He looked down at Hiccup, the slightly smaller dragon curled up to him.

"_At least he's been sleeping without interruptions; that have probably helped clearing up his mind a bit_" Toothless thought.

He had no idea where they were heading; south was the only answer Hiccup had given him the day before. He trusted the amulet would lead them to the right place eventually; flying in blindness was never something he liked. All that they had to guide them was this strange gemstone. He wondered how it made Hiccup know exactly where he should go. What he knew though, was that they probably wouldn't leave this island anytime today. With Hiccup's condition, this would be their stopping point for at least a day more.

Toothless rose to his feet, and slowly walked out of the cave. Since they were staying here a little longer, he needed to make sure they were the only one on this island too, and not some unwelcomed guests. He took to the sky and started soaring around the island. He realized the whole thing was a big volcano, which must've been put to sleep ages ago. The entire crater was covered in heavy vegetation with trees, bushes and even a lake, telling him that this thing wouldn't go off anytime soon. The island wasn't that big, and it didn't take long for Toothless to cross the entire landmass. After around an hour of searching, there was no immediate danger he could spot, and figured they were safe as for now.

Hiccup had awoken when he returned to the cave. He looked up at him, but kept quiet.

"I searched the island for any danger," Toothless explained. "It's full of life, but none we should fear"

Hiccup returned his head to rest on his paws, not answering. Although he never spoke, Toothless could feel that he relaxed a bit more. He looked over to the roe he'd killed yesterday. Hiccup had apparently eaten some while he wasn't around. A good sign for sure. Toothless settled down not far from Hiccup, and waited.

And waited…

And waited…

When the sun disappeared behind the ocean, Hiccup had still yet to utter any word or make any movements. Toothless realized nothing would happen today, so he glanced at him one last time, before closing his eyes.

The next day started off as the one before. Toothless never leaved the cave once though. He wouldn't do until Hiccup was ready; ready to continue this new journey. At last, when the third night was upon them, Hiccup spoke.

"I've been a fool" he said, looking at the ground. His voice was hoarse from the lack of conversations.

"Don't say that" Toothless immediately protested.

"But it's true and you know it," Hiccup growled. "We could've been far off by now, maybe already reached our destination! But here we are, on some deserted island in the middle of the ocean, because I'm acting like a crying hatchling who can't accept the truth, the past. For two whole days we've been here! And to what end? So that I can let myself drown in my own misery because it turned out I'm not strong enough to accept what's been done? Well Thor can might as well just shoot me with one of his lightning bolts for my stupid behavior, because I deserve it…"

"Hiccup look at me" Toothless said in a serious tone. Hiccup didn't respond.

"Look at me!" Toothless repeated, raising his voice. This time Hiccup turned his head, although it was slow and unwillingly.

"Listen, you're strong Hiccup, stronger than most. You shouldn't think otherwise because the way you've acted, and it's certainly not a cause of stupidity" Toothless said, before touching Hiccup's front belly with his nose.

"It's because you have a good heart" he smiled. "You care about your father and you care about your tribe. Leaving those who stands you near is never an easy thing, especially the way we have just done. Things haven't really turned out the way we've wanted to, but the important thing in a time like this is to just move on, and I know you're able to! We will find this apprentice, and with his help, we will earn back your father's trust, and the acceptance from your tribe"

Toothless was deeply relieved that he finally could see Hiccup calming down and relaxing his tense muscles completely. Hiccup leaned against him and closed his eyes.

"Thank you Toothless. I don't know where I'd been without you. You see through my problems in ways I really can't, and it always helps me a lot. I really needed this"

"So you're okay now?" Toothless asked calmly, and rested his head over Hiccup's.

It was a hard thing to swallow. So much had happened in such a short span of time. He had most likely lost his father and tribe by actions not really done by him. Yeah, he'd killed Astrid, but that was a choice decided by his body, not him. It was this pain, this terrible pain scratching against his mind that kept his thoughts confused. Astrid had attempted to kill Toothless, but would he really have killed Astrid if his mind wasn't this clouded as it was back then? The thought would definitely been there, but he wasn't any killer. He couldn't bring himself to kill anyone at all. That Toothless was still here strengthen that point. Still, he will accept that what's been done has been done. He's ready to move on. He still has Toothless, and that was the most important thing to him. As long as Toothless was here, he'd be okay.

"I am" Hiccup answered.

**-{[S]}-**

Hiccup and Toothless was up in the air again by the next day. Before they had left though, they needed food, and Toothless took the opportunity to teach Hiccup how to catch fish while in air, which was far different that the usual way they did it in the cove. Hiccup sure experienced that. The first thing was to spot the fish, but then came the hard part by catching it while still being airborne. You dived down until the last second, and then let your jaw touch the surface of the water. Hopefully you're able to grab a fish or two before swooping up in the air again. Hiccup had seen Toothless do a perfect demonstration before it was his turn. Folding his wings he had dived down at super speed, but was too late expanding them again, and he shot through the ocean like lightning. He didn't succeed the first time, but oh well; at least he succeeded in catching the fish.

"How does that amulet help us show the way?" Toothless asked Hiccup, after having flown for some time.

"I don't exactly know" Hiccup answered honestly. "It's not like it creates an arrow I can just follow or anything, but it's like it's pulling itself in the direction we are flying, although I can barely feel it"

"Is it tiresome?"

"…No. It does kind of drag me southwards, but the force is too weak to have any physical affect on me"

"Well, let just hope it leads us to the right person" Toothless said. "This apprentice could maybe have lost it or maybe given it away for all that we know."

"I think the amulet is too precious to him to either lose or give it up. I don't think we should concern us too much about that" Hiccup ensured.

At that point Hiccup wrinkled his nose as a tiny raindrop landed in front of his face. Then another came, and then another one. Soon the whole sky above them was covered in clouds, and the rain started washing over them.

"Mmm, I didn't know the rain would feel so good now. It hasn't rained in weeks!" Hiccup said excited.

As they continued further, the clouds become darker and darker, and wind increased in speed. Suddenly a lightning struck down not so far away, and Hiccup shivered by rumbling sound made by the thunder.

"Uh…is it safe to fly in this weather Toothless?" Hiccup asked, a tiny feeling of anxiousness swelling up inside him.

"The chance of getting struck by a lightning is hardly there; we're too small" Toothless assured. "If it did happen that we got hit by one though, it'd still be no danger to us"

"How come?"

"I…don't really know for certain" Toothless admitted. "Night Furies are immune to lightning; it's just always been like that"

"Wow, that's incredible!" exclaimed Hiccup. Hearing that made his courage rise, but as a lightning struck a little too close to them, it disappeared just as quickly as the lightning did.

"But SERIOUSLY Toothless this makes me uncomfortable. Can't we land somewhere? Flying like this is freaking me out."

"We don't really have to. We could fly above the clouds, and then continue our way without worrying about the weather. It's always sunny above the clouds."

"But we'd need to fly through the clouds to get up there.. Are you crazy?" Hiccup cried out.

"Not really" Toothless chuckled. "Just follow me"

And into the clouds they went. Once inside, it was impossible to see anything. And it went on like that for a bit too. So long that Hiccup wondered how ridiculously huge this cloud must've been! But they got through, and were greeted by the strong burst of light that shone from the sun. Hiccup's eyes struggled to adjust themselves to the sudden brightness, but once they did, he was welcomed by an unexpected sight. Dragons, everywhere! Hundreds of them to be seen, flying all over the sky. Some were familiar to Hiccup, but there were many he'd never seen before as well!

"They're so many!" Hiccup gasped. "Are they all up here because of the bad weather?"

"Maybe some…" Toothless muttered. "But for the most part they're hiding"

"Hiding?" Hiccup questioned, his voice dropping to a lower tone. "From who?"

"...Humans."

Hiccup cocked his head and looked at Toothless. "Humans? Shouldn't it…you know, been the opposite? I mean, humans should really be no match for a dragon, if you're looking at the physical aspect of it. Most of us are bigger and stronger, and not to mention other advantages as fire, acid and so on"

"Technically, you right. We are stronger than humans" Toothless agreed. "But in these southern parts, it's not uncommon for humans to use different kinds of long ranged weapons as bows and arrows and machines that throw large spears. Those weapons possess a threat to many of us, especially small dragons. And if they're skilled and many enough, they can easily take us down before we even get up close, where our advantage lies."

"But we Night Furies got fire bolts…" Hiccup pointed out.

"That's right, but the general dragon doesn't have this ability. There's only a few of us that can do this"

"Oh"

"In addition," Toothless said; "there's also a greater threat, like magicians and sorcerers; much like what Saga was. A human skilled in the art of magic is a dangerous foe to encounter, but luckily there's not too many of them. But the main reason for our avoidance lies not in the risk of getting killed. Truth is, we dragons have never liked this war that humans crave so much for. Sure, we'll defend ourselves if needed, but we do what we can to stay away from human notice, hiding in woods and mountains to keep away from getting involved in these wars. They see us as beasts, threats, or just a target to kill for the joy of it. We do not fear the humans, death or any war, but we would rather wait to reveal ourselves until the day peace can be made between us"

"What shame..." Hiccup sighed. "I've grown so accustomed being with dragons back at Berk that I've forgotten how it is elsewhere in this world"

"Out here, humans don't see dragons that much" Toothless explained. "The reason you're so used to our race, is because your island happened to be the closest one to the nest where the dragon queen once lived. We're rarely seen in these parts, and that also makes it dangerous to be here. I've seen these groups humans dressed in iron clothes, setting out on quests to kill our species. Fools they are, thinking they're able to take out a dragon like that; but it's when they're many that they become a threat, and thus it's important that we try to avoid getting close to any human cities. I really hope this apprentice likes being for himself, because it'll be troublesome if he's settled himself in one of them"

"These cities…how large are they?" Hiccup asked.

"I've seen ones capable of housing tens of thousands of humans."

"Then I guess the books didn't overdo it after all!" Hiccup said a little shocked. The little library back at Berk had several books about people and cities outside their borders, especially Romans; the people hated by every Viking.

"It's quite the sight yes. Humans are good at architecture, they can have that one"

They flew for the rest of the day, the coming night and even the day after without stopping. A dragon's stamina was impressive compared to a human's; Hiccup knew that now. But all creatures have a need for sleep, and one restless night was more than enough for Hiccup. The only problem was, they were still in the middle of the ocean! At this moment they had nowhere to land.

"Toothless…I don't know how long I can keep flying"

"Just keep it up a while longer Hiccup. I have a feeling we're not too far from the coast" Toothless assured.

"And what makes you think that, exactly?" Hiccup wondered. "I can't see anything but clouds."

"See those birds there?" Toothless asked and gestured to the ones flying below them. "They never travel far from land, and do only so if they're in a desperate need for food. They don't look too desperate to me, so I think we're not far away"

"Good, because I'm not quite sure if I can feel my wings any longer" Hiccup staggered.

"Still…" Toothless said, a bit more serious; "We can't go down until night arrives. We may be spotted by groups of humans, and once they see us, they'll get encourage to follow us and see where we're going. Unless we find a mountain where the life's more deserted, we should remain above the clouds"

"Awh come on, are you kidding?" Hiccup cried. "All this constant flying is killing me!"

A few hours past, and it was clear that Hiccup couldn't keep up much longer. His tongue was hanging out, and every beat of his wings got slower and slower.

"This is it, we need to go down now Toothless" Hiccup said.

"It's still day, it's too much of a risk. Let me give you some of my energy" Toothless suggested.

"No, no you can't" Hiccup sighed. "You're tired too, I can feel it. Transferring me energy would cause you to barely have anything left to just breathe! We don't have much of a choice now, and the only one is to go down"

Toothless didn't like it, but Hiccup was right in this. They were well above land by now, and it was too late to turn back in search for an island where it'd probably be much safer.

"Fine" Toothless finally gave in.

They started going down and glided through the clouds. Since clouds covered most of the sky, it was pretty dark down there compared to how it was above them. It never ceased to amaze Hiccup how mere clouds could change the weather so drastically. The wind was much worse down here as well, and Hiccup struggled a bit to keep himself steady. By now they could see the terrain they were flying over. It was a huge plain, with almost no vegetation and life; just sand, rocks and more sand. The complete opposite of what Hiccup was used to in other words. But he was way too tired to take much notice of this as he just wanted to feel the ground on his feet so he could rest. There was no hiding places here, but it'd have to do for now. They were only going to rest for a short while, so what could possibly go wrong?

Something suddenly drew Hiccups attention though. In a distance far away, but yet quickly approaching, was something Hiccup didn't quite know what was. Was it a mist? Of course not; mists aren't orange colored, and certainly don't gain such rapid speed. The only way he could describe it, was that it was big, fast, and it was directed at them.

"Toothless, what is that?" Hiccup asked bewildered.

Toothless had seen such phenomenon before, and his eyes widened in fear.

"Dive Hiccup!" he screeched.

Hiccup obliged immediately without thought, hearing the clear worry from Toothless' voice.

Toothless followed quickly behind.

"_What is it!_" Hiccup asked through the link. With the high speed they were having, the wind was blocking out all communication from the outside.

"_A sandstorm_!" Toothless hastily explained. "_If we get caught by it while in air, we'll get tossed around uncontrollably like leaves. It can blind us, or even worse…kill us. We need to get down on the ground fast!_"

Hiccup made no delay in doing so, and wrapped his wings tight to his body to increase the speed. The ballistic sound that resembled the Night Fury escaped them, and would for sure be heard by any living thing in the nearby area. They reached the ground fast and landed heavily, but the sandstorm was getting really close.

"We got no cover!" Hiccup cried and looked anxiously at Toothless.

Thoughts raced through Toothless, struggling to find a solution. But time was nearly up, and soon the storm would hit them.

"Quick! Get close to me and let's cover ourselves with our wings. It's the only shelter we have!" Toothless said to Hiccup.

Hiccup fastened over to Toothless and did as he said. They were just in time! Just as they covered each other with their wings, the sandstorm hit them. And the impact was hard and merciless. The sand was like thousands of wasps continuously hitting their wings, and the wind made it hard to keep them in position. Minutes passed, but the sandstorm showed no sign to end. Hiccup's already drained energy was starting to reach zero, and Toothless was getting really tired as well. Hiccup's vision started to darken, and the consciousness was slowly slipping away. He was at his very limits now.

"Don't give up Hiccup! Do not leave me now!" Toothless desperately told him.

But ultimately it became too much for Hiccup, and he collapsed to the ground.

"Hiccup no!" Toothless roared.

Their shelter broke up, and sand scratched against their vulnerable faces. Toothless leaped forth and used his wings to cover Hiccup. He shut his eyes hard and tried his best to keep them sheltered from the storm.

"_Must…hold…on_"

**-{[S]}-**

Feet slowly made way through the open field. When making business in the other cities, this was a normal travel route by many; poor people and rich people alike. It wasn't going to be an entirely normal trip this time though for these men. An off-white colored toga made of wool and a matching tunic under it was the choice of clothes for the lanista who roamed through this dry place, with his men following close behind. He slowed his pace to a stop as his vision caught sight of something lying not far from the road. Suspicious, he changed direction away from the road and started walking towards the figures. These weren't any ordinary animals from these parts he realized as he got a better look at them. No, this was something else. Something...not from here.

"Dominus, maybe we should check it before you close in on those; to make sure it's safe" one of the guards suggested.

"You take me for a coward…guard?" the lanista growled, raising an eyebrow.

"Oh certainly not, dominus! Definitely not!" the guard piped back.

"Good. Then shut your pie hole and do not speak before you're told to. I'm sure you know the consequences of breaking my rules?"

"Of course! It won't happened again"

The lanista changed his focus away from the guard and returned them to the two creatures before him. He went a bit closer and studied them. While not showing in his face, the sight was quite surprising to him. He waved with one arm.

"Bring me the biologist" he said.

A tiny man was brought forth, and he easily stood out from all the others. With a bag on his back and tattered clothes, he was not the usually person that followed a lanista, but biologists wasn't common among the people, and they come in handy at times. They sure make good use for them, at least.

"You called for me, dominus?" the biologist said.

"Yes. I want you to tell me what you see before us"

The biologist let the gaze fall upon the two figures, and he gasped.

"What a sight! These are dragons!" he exclaimed.

"I know that fool!" barked the lanista. "I want to know what species they are"

"Oh of course. Let me just take a look at them"

The biologist bent down and started to study the two dragons.

"Hmm, both are completely drained from energy. Must've been a storm that has caused this" he mumbled.

He felt the scales with his fingertips, and analyzed head, body and tail. He looked for as much detail as possible to get a more clear view of what exactly was in front of them.

"Completely black…sleek body…lack of any horns. They also have tailfins, which is uncommon amongst dragons. By all the Gods I've read these descriptions before, but what dragon was it?"

"Don't make me wait" said the lanista impatiently.

"I'm thinking!" cried the biologist in a low tone, getting stressed. He looked in the back pack he'd carried with him and brought up a book. He started looking through the pages quickly.

"I know it's somewhere here…come on where are you?"

He ran through a couple of more pages before he stopped.

"It couldn't possibly be this one…" He questioned himself. He started reading the page and looked at the two dragons before him, then back at the readings …then up again.

"Unbelievable…"

"What?" the lanista grumbled.

"Master, you've just discovered one of the rarest dragon breeds of them all. These aren't just any type of dragons; these two belongs to the family of the feared Darkscales, dragons of the night!"

"My my...well this just made it all the more interesting then" grinned the lanista.

"So what do you say we do with them?" asked the biologist.

The lanista looked at the two dragons, and noticed that one of them carried something around its neck. He took it off from the dragon and raised it to the air to study it. It was an amulet.

"I..I've seen this one before" he said to himself. "What do you think of this?" the lanista asked, directing the question to the biologist.

"The only reasonable explanation for this is that it must've stolen the amulet" he answered. "Thinking that the dragons actually got an owner is an absurd thought"

"I need to get to the bottom of this" said the lanista. He looked down at the two Darkscales. This is just the opportunity he's been looking for. With these dragons, he will once again rise to fame and glory.

The lanista smiled.

"I got plans for these two here."


	8. Chapter 8 Where are you, Toothless?

Stone walls surrounded him, spider webs filled the corners and blood colored the ground, while the scent of it poisoned the air. This was the place Hiccup woke up to, where he'd been locked up, alone. He opened his eyes barely for the first time since the storm had hit them, and the sight was as unwelcomed as it could get.

"Gods my head…feels like it's been hit by Thor's hammer.."

Hiccup looked around with half shut eyes. They scanned a room that wasn't the most coziest one he had seen, and with a drowsy mind he tried to figure out what was going on. He took a particularly interest in the bars that surrounded him. It wasn't until then it struck him. A prison? He was imprisoned? The last thing he remembered was that he was out there in the desolated field with Toothless, in that storm.

Hiccup spun around. _"Toothless? Toothless' not here!"_

He didn't want to believe this. Hiccup closed his eyes hard. It was a nightmare. Where was he…and where was Toothless? He could feel it right away. The connection between them—the link, was now gone. Wherever Toothless was, it must be far away from where Hiccup is being kept now. Or was he even dead? No no, he can't think such things.

And his head; it felt empty. A bit of himself had been torn apart from him, and he felt small and weak without having the comforting feeling of Toothless' consciousness in his mind. He could already feel the loneliness suffusing him.

But all these feelings of confusion and loneliness, was building up in him in form of…anger. Hiccup suddenly felt furious. He growled and smoke puffed out from his nostrils. He wanted revenge. He wanted to tear apart whoever had done this to him and Toothless! What had they done to deserve this? He looked at the bars that kept him trapped. They looked like normal steel, and they were quite rusty. He could probably break them if he created a powerful enough burst. Hiccup stepped back as far as the tiny space would allow him, and started to build up the fire. He inhaled deeply.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you…"

Hiccup stopped. He looked up at a man who was calm and determined, not showing a single fear towards him. He wore clothes that looked quite expensive. Maybe this was a man with power… The man leaned against the wall and studied Hiccup. Hiccup growled at him.

"Break out of this cage and I'll make sure that you'll never see your companion again."

"_He has Toothless?"_ Hiccup stopped his growling. It was a great relief to him that he now knew Toothless at least was alive. The man smiled.

"It's good that we understand each other. I was actually wondering if you could understand me at all. It's nice to see one of my questions answered…"

The man crossed his arms and seemed more relaxed, although a more serious look formed his face.

"Now, I want you to listen and listen carefully. Here it's I who's in charge. Your race may rule the sky, but here on the ground you don't stand a chance. You do as I command and I expect you to obey them. If you do not, you're dragon friend will be dead long before you've reached him, and you will be hunted down and killed yourself. Understood?"

There was no point in resisting for Hiccup. Even if he did free himself, where would he go? He didn't have any clues of where Toothless was being held captured.

Hiccup nodded.

The lanista's face lightened up and he smiled.

"Good, good!" He said, and his angry look dissipated faster than it had came. "Now then, I suppose an introduction is in order. I am Verius Batin Toranicus, owner of a ludus and a lanista. This is the school of only the greatest gladiators ever seen in Parragrin! I suppose you don't know what a gladiator is? No, of course you don't. Why would a dragon take interest in human activities?" He chuckled to himself.

Hiccup had heard of these 'gladiators'. He had read of them in books. They were usually warriors fighting for glory in big arenas, or slaves fighting for their freedom. Hiccup nodded to Verius.

The lanista raised an eyebrow, quite surprised.

"You do? What do you know, a smart dragon then! You keep surprising me Darkscale."

"_Darkscale?"_ Hiccup cocked his head in confusion.

"You haven't heard? That's the name your species is called here in these parts. You're famous for your rarity, which makes my plan all the better. And finding two as well! I mean what are the odds for that?"

"_But where is Toothless then?"_ Hiccup thought, and tried to mentally send it to Verius. He released a low whine.

"Oh, you want to know where your friend is?"

Hiccup nodded eagerly.

"Well, I sold him."

"What?" Hiccup growled. He had sold Toothless, as if he was merely an object? Hiccup roared at the lanista in anger. The force made the whole ground shiver, and Verius almost fell. Guards suddenly showed up and helped him straight himself up again.

"Shut it, beast!" cried Verius through the roar. "You don't want both of you dead, right?"

The room stilled.

"I didn't sell him to just anyone" Verius said irritated. "If you really want to know, my brother has him; he's a lanista as well. If you ever want to be free and see him again, you will hear me out."

Hiccup needed to focus extremely hard to let his anger under control. It was like another living being inside him, an unchained beast that took control of him whenever his body boiled with fury. Maybe this was a part of his transformation. A part of a Night Fury?

Verius waited until Hiccup had quiet down fully before he continued on.

"You two should consider yourself lucky to just be alive. If I wasn't desperate, you'd been long dead and sold as food. You see, people don't care about dragons. In their eyes, you're only disgusting beasts. Worthless creatures that'd be better off dead."

Hiccup growled at that mark, but Verius didn't seem to take notice. He bent down so that he could see right in Hiccup's eyes.

"But I can make that otherwise! I can make them love you, scream at you for the entertainment you bring them. I can make you; the first two dragon gladiators."

Verius eye's shone like if he was picturing it all in his mind. Hiccup couldn't believe what he had heard. This guy wants to make him a gladiator! He would have to kill other humans for the amusement of others, or get killed himself. How could he do something like that?

"I've just gotten a message from my brother telling that your friend has already agreed on it."

Toothless has? Hiccup shouldn't be surprised. That much he should expect from him, but if HE didn't accept as well, they'd be both dead. He needed to do this, there's no other way if he ever want to see Toothless again. It was either the arena or death. Hiccup gave Verius a slow nod.

"Then it's settled!" Verius said, clapping his hands together. "Fight for me in the arena, and together we will restore honor and fame to this house. Win the crowd, and you will be rewarded. Show that you are worthy, and when the time finally comes; you'll regain your freedom again."

"_Honor and fame in my dragon butt"_Hiccup thought._"I don't care for this house or whatever, but if fighting for this Verius is what it takes to get Toothless back, I'll do it!"_

Verius turned and was about to leave, but he quickly raised a pointed finger in the air and stopped.

"Ah, I almost forgot..."

He turned back again and looked at Hiccup.

"There's someone here that I'd like to take a look at you. You remember this little thing?"

Verius picked up Saga's amulet from one of his pockets. He held it forth so Hiccup could see it clearly.

"_My amulet!"_ Hiccup shouted in his mind, suddenly feeling that it wasn't around his neck anymore. His eyes widened, revealing how big they actually were.

"You take interest in this I see. Well, I thought so."

Verius looked down on the ground in thoughts, as a hint of a slight hesitation whether he should do what he thought of or not. Still in the same position, his eyes changed back to Hiccup.

"I'm going to let you out now, but REMEMBER! Try anything suspicious, and my guards here will make sure to place three spears inside you before you even knew what hit you; and you friend will be as good as dead as well." The guards peered at Hiccup with angry looks.

Verius locked up the cage with one of the keys he had with him, and opened. He took a few steps backs so Hiccup could get enough room to get out.

"Now don't be too hasty and take slow steps" Verius ordered. Hiccup did as he said and followed Verius. The guards walked behind Hiccup with their spears constantly pointed at him. It didn't take long before Verius signaled Hiccup to stop.

"Wait here." He said low.

Verius walked until he came to the next cell. Inside was a young man sitting by one of the corners, not more than in the middle of his twenties. His hair was short and black, and a hint of an upcoming beard covered the lower part of his face. On him, he wore a dark blue robe.

"Hello there Burrows!" Verius said with a light tone. "How are you doing this fine evening?"

The young man lifted his head with a nonchalant expression on his face.

"My robe is getting dirty… I don't like it dirty."

"Agree with my terms and you can have as many clean robes as you like!"

Burrows sighed.

"I've said it a hundred times before. I won't fight for you! Using magic in the arena is a cheap way to win. Besides I'm no gladiator, and was never meant to be one."

"Who cares if it's cheap!" Verius laughed. "The crowd will love it nevertheless! They rarely see magic. They rarely see ones like you."

"I won't do it" snorted Burrows.

"Not even now?" Verius asked, and brought up an amulet which he let dangle in front of him. Burrows looked at it with a slight annoyance.

"You can't tempt me, Verius. And that's mine, and I want it back. It doesn't mean anything to you anyway."

"Oh, but this isn't your amulet, Burrows" Verius smiled. His hand slid down his pocket and came up again with a second completely identical amulet as the one he held on the other hand.

"This one is yours."

It looked like Burrows' eyes were about to pop out; that's how big they were.

"W-w-where did you get that?" he staggered.

"I was hoping you had a little story of your own" Verius answered. "Ever been around a dragon before?"

"What?" Burrows asked confused. "What does this have to do with dragons?"

Verius flicked his fingers, and the guards brought Hiccup before the cage where Burrows sat. One would've thought his eyes couldn't get bigger, but they just did. With a shaky hand he pointed at Hiccup.

"D-d….dragon!" he exclaimed.

"Yepp, a rare sight these creatures, aren't they?" Verius smiled. "He's the one who was wearing this amulet."

"He did?" Burrows said with an unsure tone. His eyes were locked on Hiccup. He looked intently at him. His mind was propped with questions.

"He's training starts tomorrow" Verius added.

"He's to join the gladiators?" Surprise was everywhere in Burrows voice.

Verius shrugged. "Desperate times calls for desperate decisions. Now, do you happen to know this dragon?"

"Never seen it before."

"Then why is it so that this dragon was carrying an identical amulet to yours?" demanded Verius suspiciously.

Burrows looked intensively at the amulet. "It belonged to a great friend of mine. Maybe the dragon stole it, for reasons unknown."

"Oh, but then I'm afraid to say that your great friend isn't around us anymore." Verius said, pretending to be sad. "An encounter with a dragon usually...well, let's just say they don't end well. Of course that means that I'm in possession of something dearly to you." He looked at Hiccup's amulet. "Such pity you can't have it, unless..." Verius grinned at Burrows.

Burrows stared at Verius with both hate and anger. But he exhaled a heavily, at last giving in.

"Ok. I'll fight for you if I get the amulets and on another condition."

"And what might that be?" Verius asked.

"…Let me share cage with the dragon."

"Ah suicidal thought" Verius laughed. "And why would you do that?"

"I could use the company down here. It's not like you're going to place me with the others anyway. At least I can talk to someone, instead of myself."

"As you wish then" Verius said. "I will take you to his cage and leave you two for yourselves. Wouldn't surprise me if there's only one of you by tomorrow though."

Burrows and Hiccup were taken back to Hiccup's cage. After several warnings from Verius, he leaved for something he explained as "significantly higher importance", and the two were left alone. Burrows had placed himself in the far left corner of the cage, and regarded Hiccup form where he sat, just as Hiccup watched intently at him. Hiccup had realized it ever since Verius showed the second amulet. This was Saga's apprentice! The man he had been looking for all along! They looked at each other in silence, until Burrows finally decided to say something. He proceeded slowly; every word left his mouth with slight pauses.

"Could you, uhm...say something to me, oh great Darkscale?"

"Like what?" Hiccup asked.

Burrows couldn't stay serious any longer, and over excitement raced through his body. A big fat smirk formed his face. The big question that had kept his mind buzzing for all these years. He finally knew it!

"It's true! Saga was right! The family history of my line is actually real! I can understand dragons!"

Hiccup regarded Burrows with more interest. Ever since Saga had told him about her apprentice, he had pictured a wise man with a good number of winters behind him. Before him was a young man who was…well, less serious than he had expected. Right now he was literally agitating uncontrollably from excitement.

"Okay calm down, calm down" he said to himself between gasps.

"Finished?" Hiccup asked with a slight smile.

"Yeah…I think so."

"Then I would like to ask you something" Hiccup began. "Are you Saga's once was apprentice?"

"I-I am" Burrows confirmed. "Do you know her? Is that why you carried her amulet? Are you here to save me? AM I GOING TO RIDE YOU?"

"Wow slow down with the questions!" Hiccup exclaimed.

"Ooh right. Sorry about that"

Hiccup eyed him with amusement. "You don't strike me as the smartest of persons; even for a magician" he hummed.

"Hey, don't judge me by first look!" Burrows protested. "I happen to be a very good magician. I'm good with magic!"

"I believe you I believe you. Now.." Hiccup said, the voice now changing into a more serious tone. "To answer you original question; yes, I know Saga, and she gave me her amulet."

"She gave it to you? Why? How does she fare?"

Hiccup grimaced. It hurt him to talk about her, but he knew Burrows deserved to know what happened. "It's with great sorrow I have to bring you this news, but…" Hiccup stopped.

"But what?" Burrows asked, all happy expressions fading. You could see in his eyes that he probably knew what was coming.

"…but she gave her own life to save mine."

"Oh." Burrows said low. "She meant a great deal to me. At least she had a long life."

No tears came, but it was obvious that the news had struck him deeply.

"And what exactly did she save you from?" Burrows asked. Hiccup didn't quite know how to begin.

"It's a long story, and probably one hard to believe."

"What do you mean?"

"Eh, what I mean is…well, to begin with; I'm not exactly a dragon."

Burrows lifted one eyebrow. "Oh really?" he said while looking at Hiccup, who definitely looked quite dragon to him.

"Yeah, I should probably start from the beginning" Hiccup said. He then started to tell about the transformation, about Toothless and how they got to meet Saga. He leaved the romance out though. No way would he ever tell him about that! He continued explaining Astrid's attempt to kill Toothless, the encounter with Saga in the cove, the escape from Berk and how he had ended up with Verius.

"So" Burrows began. "Let's get things straight. You're really a human in a dragon body, which caused complications with your tribe and father. Saga sacrificed herself so you could escape and find me; so that I could help you settle this problem… And there's another dragon involved?"

"Yepp. That's about it" Hiccup said, shrugging.

"I find that really hard to believe."

"I told you it was complicated"

"But one cannot simply transform a human into a dragon! We're talking about extraordinary magic! I've never seen anything like it being recorded before."

"Then again we're talking about magic from dragons," Hiccup pointed out. "which again are rare in these parts. I've been around them for a long time, and believe me when I say this: They never seem to surprise you enough. Now that I am one too, I surprise myself sometimes as well!"

"I've been reading countless books about dragons, and they really are mystical and amazing creatures judging from them! I've never been up close to one before, but I suppose you got a point" Burrows agreed.

"So you believe me?"

"You came with Saga's amulet. It was the dearest thing to her, and she wouldn't have departed with it unless absolutely necessary! So I've chosen to rely on what you've told me."

"It relieves me to her that. So will you help me?"

"Help two dragons in need? You bet I will!"

Hiccup chuckled.

"You seem to really love dragons. From what I've heard, people usually don't."

"Saga told me about them. She really opened my eyes for what they are."

A moment of silence followed, but Burrows made quick work of it.

"Well, let's not dwell of her leave. I knew her well, and she wouldn't have wanted us to either. Since we're obviously partners know, maybe we should exchange names. I am Burrows Farendir, pleased to meet you, dragon..Darkscale…ehr, human?"

Hiccup laughed. "You may refer to me as a dragon, since that's what I really am now. But I'm Hiccup.

"Pffahahah!" Burrows couldn't hold himself. Hiccup frowned at his choice of reaction. Burrows stopped when he suddenly got aware of it.

"Oh, you're serious? Oh please excuse my rudeness! I didn't think…"

"It's alright" Hiccup stopped him. "The name-giving up in the north are a bit different from other places. Full name is Hiccup Horrendus Haddock III though, but you may just call me Hiccup."

"And your friend. Does he have a name?"

"Yeah. He's Toothless and…"

"BWAHAHAhaha…haha..ha...uhm…I did it again didn't I?"

Hiccup sighed. "You know I could eat you for your insolence?"

Burrows face turned skeptical. "You wouldn't…"

"It's not only the outside of me that has changed you know."

The color of Burrows face was turning slight white.

"A-are you really going to?"

"Nah, of course not" Hiccup laughed. "I highly doubt I'd enjoyed it anyway. Besides, he's called Toothless for a reason. Look."

Hiccup opened his mouth and retracted his teeth.

"Ah, I see now!" Burrows said. "I suppose it makes sense then, but not the whole retractable part. What that's good for?"

"Ah, I asked the very same question to Toothless once" Hiccup said enthusiastically. He loved that Burrows showed interest in dragon anthology. "Have you ever read of Ni..eh, Darkscales before?"

"Ooh yes, definitely!"

"Does it say anything about their attacks?"

"Of course" Burrows said, as if it was obvious. "They favor the dive bombing where they release a burst of blue fire which explodes upon impact. It has also been recorded that they sometimes use a continuous flame that can reach impressive length."

"Right" Hiccup continued. "The burst of fire is by being more specific; a semi solid mass, and Toothless told me it's mainly made of two things. You got the core, and the flames surrounding it. A part of the core is made up by certain materials that are highly explosive if they get unstabilized, as they do when the burst of fire hit something solid. Now, when Darkscales release this burst of fire, their teeth are always retracted. The reason for this is because if they aren't; they will cause the shape the core to change, which causes these materials to get unstable already upon release. That means the core will explode shortly after it's been shot."

"Very interesting" Burrows said, scratching himself on the chin. "And you've experienced this by your own eyes?"

"You bet I have!" Hiccup exclaimed. "The damn dragon flied me into one once!"

Burrows laughed, but quickly thought of what Hiccup said. "Wait, so you've actually ridden Toothless?"

"Oh yes, many times back when I was still a human, but that's another story."

"You're having a very unusual life, Hiccup." Burrows said yawning. "You have to tell me more about it sometime. But right now we have more important things to concern us about, like focusing on how we can escape this bastard without it causing trouble for your friend, because I'm sure Verius has planned all this carefully. But the best thing now is to get some rest. Our training starts tomorrow and we'll need the sleep."

Hiccup agreed on that, and they both found their most comfortable position while their conversation carried on no more. Hiccup thought about the days to come, what he needed to do to get out of this mess, or if he ever would.

Killing. Something he thought he'd never do again. It just didn't feel right to take another one's life, unless it meant food to keep one self alive. He couldn't kill for honor and fame, as Verius had mentioned. He couldn't either kill to make his father proud. But for Toothless? The dragon who he had befriended. The dragon that cared for him. The dragon who he loved. Could he do this for him?

…Yes. That, he could do.


	9. Chapter 9 Where are you, Hiccup?

"UAAAAAH!" *Boom*

"NEXT!"

"_Stupid tiny muscled sword wielder_"

*Smack*

"AAARGH!" …..*Boom*

"NEXT!"

"_Can't believe this has happened. Why am I doing this anyway? Oh, stop waving that toy at me!"_

Toothless literally punched the gladiator in the groin with his front right paw. The gladiator squeaked and fell down on the ground, collapsing. The lanista, who was watching from the balcony, slapped his face. "Gods, the damn dragon is taking down my men completely effortlessly. This is all a child's play to him for pity sake!"

"HEY, Agnor!" he yelled down at the training ground. "Get in there and show that beast how a real gladiator fights!"

Agnor nodded and readied his training sword and shield, and started walking towards Toothless with a mad look. He positioned himself before Toothless and raised his shield for protectiveness.

"You will regret stepping on this sand, creature" He grumbled.

"Oh I'm feeling so scared right now" sighed Toothless and rolled his eyes.

First they got caught in a sandstorm, and the next thing he knew was that he was being held captured in a ludas. _These pathetic humans will regret doing this. Capturing me will be the biggest mistake of their lives. They don't know my—off!_

Agnor had just made his first move. While Toothless was busier fighting his mind and had let his guard down, Agnor had performed a simple downward attack on Toothless' head. The impact could hardly be felt, but the force from it was enough to get Toothless aware.

"Dead" said Agnor and smiled mockingly.

"How dare you!" Toothless growled. This human just hit him. A huge mistake!

Faster than what any human eye could register, Toothless snapped the wood sword from Agnor and crushed it to bits between his jaws. And before he could do anything else, Toothless head butted him and lifted him up in the air. Agnor flew across the training area like a yelping dog and landed on his back several meters away from Toothless. He rolled a couple more before he stopped.

Toothless looked angrily up at the lanista. His just wanted to tear apart that smirking face.

"Isn't this what you wanted? HAVEN'T I PROVEN MY STRENGTH?" Roared Toothless at the lanista. A couple of gladiators backed away a bit, unsure about Toothless' sudden change of mood. Toothless puffed a good amount of smoke out off his nose and walked up to one of the walls that surrounded the training ground and settled down in the shadows. He didn't want to spend more time with these incompetent fighters.

The first day had been awful. To wake up and find out that you're neither in the place you're supposed to be, and then find out that you're alone, without Hiccup. Toothless did not handle that part well. It had taken him ten seconds after he had woken up to freak out. Ten more and the cage that he was in exploded to bits, and he had made a run for it. Hadn't it been for that human mentioning Hiccup, he would've been free already back then. That stupid fat lanista. Because he was indeed fat! At least for a human from these parts. He called himself Veron, but Toothless didn't see anyone here worthy of a proper name; these disgusting, selfish beings. Fat lanista seemed like a suitable nick for this mountain of a human. So, it had taken several hours for this fat lanista to calm Toothless completely down. They had placed him in a second cage, but Toothless destroyed that one too just to annoy the fat one. He needed to stop though when the lanista had threatened him to punish Hiccup for anything he did wrong. Toothless didn't know if he actually would, but he wouldn't take any chances.

Veron looked down at the creature below him. He nodded approvingly to himself. The dragon had shown impressive skills and power, and that was what he had been looking for. The gladiator matches had been rather dull as of late, and could use some fresh ideas. His brother was right. Throwing dragons into the games was a most interesting twist. And the emperor had surprisingly enough agreed on it! This plan was perfect. The only thing he needed to make sure was that the Darkscales stayed alive until the end of the games before the four months-break. Veron looked down at Toothless.

"Pft. This one will make it through no problem" he said crossing his arms confidently. They were at the end of the season, so it was not long until it was time. He hoped his brother's Darkscale was just as furious as this one. If they wanted the prize, both creatures needed to survive. It was clearly told by the emperor. Veron turned and went his way into his house. The Darkscales would prove a huge advantage in the games. And the best part of all this? He and his brother were the only on with dragons!

Well, as far as he knew at least.

Toothless lay in the shadows napping most of the day. It wasn't until what seemed to be the trainer of the gladiators came over to where he was and disturbed his sleep that he woke up.

"Up with you, Darkscale. You can sleep more when you're back in your cell."

Toothless opened one eye. "_It's evening already? That storm must really have taken a lot of energy from me._" Toothless got up and gave the man an annoying stare. The man stared nonchalant back and gestured with his head that Toothless should get moving. He was the only one left on the training ground. Toothless exhaled a sigh and started walking. This wasn't what he had expected from this trip. Sure, maybe they'd stumble upon a small problem or two, but this was overdoing it. He missed Hiccup. Before, he was used to be alone like this; that was what he had preferred. Night Furies hunted and lived alone, and rarely gathered in groups. All that changed when he met Hiccup. Now he couldn't stand being alone like this! He needed someone to be with, someone he could share conversations with. Someone who'd care for him when he was troubled. He needed his mate.

Toothless looked up at the evening sky. "Where are you, Hiccup?"

**-{[S]}-**

"Okay, just stay close to me Hiccup and let's hope Verius doesn't decide to separate us. If we're lucky we get to have a spot for ourselves since you're…well, different from the other gladiators" Burrows whispered to Hiccup.

They slowly made their way to the middle of the training ground where the other gladiators stood lined up. They all had their eyes on Hiccup, showing both surprise and confusion of his presence. They whispered to each other, speculating why in all Parragrin there was a dragon amongst them. Many had probably only heard stories about them, and never really seen any with their own eyes. Verius showed himself upon the balcony and raised a hand to silence them all.

"Morning, my gladiators" He greeted in a cheering tone. "This would originally just been a normal day like any other, but as you may have already seen, we have a couple of new recruits with us today."

"What?" one of the gladiators exclaimed. "You're making this overgrown bat a gladiator? That's madness! This creature doesn't even deserve to step upon this very sand. He's better off in the underworld!" The gladiator's temper rose quickly and the others joined in too, and the whole place got filled with shouting and complaining.

"SILENCE!" Verius bellowed.

Everything got quiet.

"Neither of you have any say on this, so keep your tongues in." He took a zip from the wine one of the slaves had readied for him. He scanned his men as he drank. "The emperor and I have come to an agreement you see. The dragon will stay, and the dragon will fight, and there's nothing you or any other gladiators can do about it. Time changes, rules changes and each and every one of you are going to have to adapt to it. If not? Well, then you can kiss your miserable lives goodbye and have fun in hell, because that's where you're going if you're not prepared to meet up against one of these." Verius pointed at Hiccup.

A few of the gladiators looked over to Hiccup, watching him with evil looks. Hiccup answered by returning a deep growl back.

"Now that's what you notsupposed to do" Verius sighed. "Look what you just did now. You made it annoyed. If it's annoyed, it's also getting more aggressive. And that's a bad thing for you, gladiators. Do not make enemy with it, because it's not. Remember he's on our team, and you should be thankful that he is. Treat it as one of your own, instead of acting with such foolishness. That dragon is going to be our key to victory. Harm it, and I'll have your head on a spike." Verius looked down at the trainer and nodded.

"Now, start the training!"

The gladiators mumbled to each other, but otherwise started positioning themselves and do their normal training routines. Burrows and Hiccup was about to go over to the far left corner of the yard when Verius stopped them.

"Not you two."

Burrows and Hiccup turned around again, facing Verius with unreadable looks.

"Is there anything wrong, Dominus?" asked Burrows in a normal tone. Verius let out a short laugh.

"You ask if something's wrong? You're walking around with that Darkscale as if it were your puppy! Now what kind of spell have you used on it, hmm?"

"I've done nothing with him, if you must ask. You know very well that I cannot use powerful magic without any staff in my hand. I've merely talked with it."

"You can speak with dragons…?" Verius raised an eyebrow. It was disbelief in his words.

"Yeah well…you know, it's a family thing."

Verius frowned. "I'm a lanista. We can tell when people lie."

"Then you'd also know that I'm telling the truth" Burrows smiled back.

Verius thought about it. He looked at Burrows' eyes, his face expressions and body movement, but none indicated that he was lying. He was indeed telling the truth. Perhaps this could work in his favor.

"Excellent! Then you can be my translator. And since you two are getting along so nicely, I'll let you fight in the arena together as well now that we're on it. Apparently I need both of you alive now, so that's probably for the better."

"_Perfect!_" Hiccup thought. "_That means we can protect each other when we're battling_"

"And then I want to ask you, my dear translator; what is the Darkscales' opinion of this?"

Hiccup looked up and talked directly to Verius, although the lanista couldn't understand what he said.

"He says he's fine with it" Burrows said to Verius after Hiccup finished.

"That's good. Anything else he wants to mention to me while he now has the chance to?" Verius responded, looking at Hiccup. Hiccup let out a few more grunts and growls at him, and Burrows translated again.

"He says you better not have harmed the other Darkscale, or else he's going to rip your head off."

"Ah, he's fine" Verius assured Hiccup. "You got nothing to worry about. As long as the other Darkscale is good in combat, that is."

One of the slaves on the balcony walked up beside him to get his attention, saying something to him.

Verius nodded and shooed her away again. "Oh, work's calling, so I'll have to make my leave" Verius said down to the two. "Meanwhile, have fun training!"

"Wait!" Burrows exclaimed. "What about my staff? I'll need it if I'm going to fight."

"Change of plans, wizard-"

"Magician!" Burrows yelled irritated.

"Magician, whatever!" Verius sighed. "It's too much of threat to give you your power source back now that things have changed. Besides, you won't need any staff when you got a dragon by your side now do you?" he smiled. Verius then walked off before Burrows could answer him.

"That…that...damn bastard!" Burrows angrily said while walking up to a free spot.

"Is the staff really that important to you?" Hiccup asked.

"Important? It's fatal!" Burrows exclaimed. "Without it, I won't be able to fend myself. I'm not familiar with the handling of a sword. In my whole life I've been trained to use a staff alongside with magic. I won't even last a minute in the arena.."

"Hey, we're together on this, right?" Hiccup smiled. Burrows sighed and relaxed.

"Yeah" he said, returning the smile.

"But, can't you use magic without a staff?" Hiccup wondered.

"I can, but it's dangerous and very limited. You see, if you're not a master in the art of magic, which in most cases would take a lifetime of training to become may I point out, we don't have control of the magic inside us. We can call upon it when needed, but we don't know the outcome when we release it. You'd expect the spell to come out from our hands, right? Well in this case, it can come out anywhere."

"You mean…anywhere?" Hiccup smirked.

"AnyWHERE!" Burrows said starring wide-eyed at Hiccup.

"Ouch! I imagine that would hurt."

"Indeed!" Burrows nodded. "And that's why we always carry a staff with us. Because with those, the magic will be guided into them, making the spell more focused and powerful once inside the staff. The reason why-"

"Hey magician!" shouted the trainer of the gladiators. "Quit babbling with the dragon and start training before I make you!"

"He's right" Burrows said. "I'll tell you the rest later, but let's prepare ourselves for the arena."

Hiccup nodded.

"Alright, just position yourself right there. Yes that's good."

"What exactly are we going to do?" Hiccup asked.

"You're going to hit me."

"What?"

"Relax" Burrows chuckled. "Not like this of course. Every magician learns one spell at young age that can be used at any time, regardless whether he got a staff or not. It's called kraftzalir, or simply force shield."

Burrows uttered the word again, and this time a wall of energy was created around him, formed like an egg-shaped bubble. It was glowing with a faint blue color.

"You attack me as if I was an enemy, while I train my stamina by defending myself as long as I can. Got it?"

"Got it."

**-{[S]}-**

Even as only one night had passed, Toothless had managed to make enemies with every single gladiator in the ludas! It was understandable, as he had made them all look weak. They, who many were one of the fiercest gladiators in the ring, beaten by the newcomer. Toothless didn't care how much he crushed their pride. He wasn't here to make friends.

"_If this is what I'm going up against in the arena, I'll have the time of my life!_"

One of the gladiators threw his sword and shield away, sighing heavily.

"Bah! There's no use in this. He's just too strong for us. He's too quick!"

Veron had spent this day having his gladiators fight Toothless. First one by one, then in pairs…before he let them attack him all at once. Toothless didn't even feel tired after the whole practice had ended. Their attacks were predictable, slow and definitely not thought through. They may have worked on another human, but not a dragon. With one swing of his tail, he had sent them all flying.

Not all of the gladiators had lost their spirits though. "Things would've been different if we weren't carrying wooden weapons. If I had a real sword, that dragon would've been without a head!" one of them said. Toothless eyed him and released a short growl.

"_Yours would've been eaten long before that ever happened._"

The rest of the day went as normal. Toothless eventually grew bored of giving the gladiators flying lessons, and settled down in the shadows for a nap. Veron didn't mind him doing that, since he was confident that the Darkscale was more than capable of surviving the matches that was to come. And it made his gladiators more focused, as they eventually got back to their normal routines and soon forgot about the dragon. It didn't feel long for Toothless before the sun disappeared behind the surrounding walls, and he again found himself in his cage. He decided to stay awake this night, as the trip to the city where the gladiator matches were being held, would take a good week to reach. It hadn't taken many hours before he had heard shouting outside, followed by the clinging sounds of swords meeting each other. Later, Toothless had overheard two guards passing by that one of the gladiators had tried to escape, obviously not wanting to attend the tournament. The matches were a fight to the death, and weren't for the weak minded. Yet the fat lanista recruited these people. Toothless wondered why, but didn't ponder about it for long.

Early next morning, Toothless was transported to a steel cage upon a carriage. He could easily break through it, the lanista knew it too, but it was probably to make anybody else feel safer. Toothless then heard a cry, and the carriage started moving. Dust rose from the ground as the gate opened, and dozen of horses leaved the ludas. Outside was an empty dry landscape, except for a few trees and bushes Toothless spotted a few miles away.

"This guy sure likes it private" Toothless mumbled to himself as he settled down in his cage. Six guards walked nearby, constantly watching over him. Toothless paid them little mind. Far west, he could spot a city, probably were the usual matches took place. Toothless had heard from the lanista that they were headed to the largest city in this region. Rome, he had called it. Home to over six hundred thousand humans!

"_So many living together in just one place. How can they keep up with that? There's a lot of free land and good hunting grounds elsewhere."_

Toothless looked up at the sky. He wondered how Hiccup was doing. Toothless swore to himself that he would rip apart anyone who had dared tried or would try to hurt him. None shall get away with hurting his Hiccup! Such fools need to be learned their place in life.

"_I just hope he's alright."_


	10. Chapter 10 Announcing a Funeral

Chapter 10: Announcing a Funeral

-Hiccup-

Boom, a large gong like sound rattled the cages where every gladiator sat waiting.

Boom, it rang again, this time followed by an announcer. His voice was unnaturally loud, Hiccup guessed it was magic. Burrows had shared some of his knowledge about magic and what it could do. Making your voice louder was one of the "parlor tricks" as he said.

"You know, if it's just going to keep ringing, I might not be able to hear again." Burrows said sarcastically.

A large amount of the other gladiators grunted in approval and some passed the joke around.

"I can tell its cramped in there" Burrows said, leaning against the cage bars. He was being held to the right of Hiccup, and to the left was more gladiators that he had never seen before.

"A Little"

"Ladies and Gentlemen! It's been five years to the day, and the time of the great Gladiator Fights have come at last!" The crowd roared "You have all been waiting, and placed your bets, now is the time to see you get rich, or poor!" More clapping and roaring from the crowed. "This year we have chosen a tournament style, unlike the previous fights" The crowed sent a low boo at the last words. Disapproval of the previous fights radiating off the people. "But before we announce our first fighters, I would like to recognize our guests. Verius!" The crowd roared, and screams leaped from some of the people. "Thank you, thank you." Verius stood and signaled the crowed to silence. He started to explain the rules of the fights, but Hiccups ears where filled with the complaints from the other gladiators.

"Get it over with!" The man to Hiccups left had yelled

"I want to kill something! Give me a challenge! Not a speech!"

Hiccup grunted, it was true, he was tired of being cramped in a cage where his head touched the ceiling and moving was imposable.

"Yall get your chance! Now shut up!" Burrows mumbled to himself.

To Hiccups surprise, the gladiator heard and turned his head in an evil stair.

"I hope you're my first, I will rip your head off with my bare hands!" The gladiator yelled, showing the movements.

"How mature of you"

The Gladiator yelled and started beating the cage walls, yelling complaints even louder.

"We have a real treat for our first battle ladies and gentlemen! The great… The deadly… Darkscale!" The crowd erupted, and Hiccups heart fell to the floor.

"Of all the luck… I'm first" Hiccup mumbled.

"It's fine Hiccup, just remember to be fast, and not get killed" He joked.

Two men came from a large door holding what seemed to be keys to the cages. One of the men came to Hiccups cage and started to turn the key when the other yelled at him.

"Not that one you numbskull! The other one!"

"But?"

"Come on, don't be stupid like last time, they want a good fight. So we give them the other one"

Hiccups heart lifted, and slammed to the floor again. "Toothless!"


	11. Chapter 11 Deep Power

Chapter 11 :: Deep Power

"Burrows I can't let them take Toothless!"

"Don't worry, he will be fine. He is a big Dragon and all. From what you have told me he can handle himself."

Burrows fiddled with his clothing, anxious for what was to come.

"You don't understand, If he gets hurt. I don't know what I would do."

Hiccup fussed, and tried to occupy himself by biting his tail. This did nothing to cover the fear he had inside. Something about Toothless going out to fight, without him, caused Hiccups heart to explode in pain. The worst part of it all was that there was nothing he could do but watch. This was a torture in itself. Nothing he did made a difference.

"Hiccup, you really fear this don't you?"

"Nothing will be the same"

Burrows dropped his clothing that he had been jumbling with. "If its honest fear you feel than tell me how you became a Night Fury"

"What do you mean, I already told you this"

Burrows slapped himself on the head. "Right and you said it was some type of magic, correct?"

"Yes"

"Then there might still be magic in you, if Toothless could turn you into a Dragon out of fear from you dying. Then I don't see why you can't save him with magic"

"I don't understand"

Hiccup was puzzled and confused. All of this information was giving him a Dragon sized headache. The thought of him being able to use magic overwhelmed his thoughts and everything became hazy and unclear.

"Look at me"

Hiccup strayed his eyes over to Burrows, still slightly confused.

"Take a deep breath, you're going through magic shock. Listen and listen good. You and Toothless have a bond, forged by the magic of dragons. From what you have told me, and from what I can see. The magic is triggered from fear. Hiccup you have a lot of fear running through you right now, am I correct?"

Hiccup lifted his head up, and then down. It felt like the whole world had moved other than himself. His stomach lurched.

"Good, now think about the lock. The one on the cage, think hard and put all of your emotions you are feeling right now into the very idea of freedom!"

Hiccup did as he was told. Although he found it was hard to channel emotions. Every time he would keep a steady thought on freedom and the lock on the cage which would then be followed by the thoughts of Toothless dying. It tormented his mind making him even more determined to focus. _Focus, the lock. Freedom. Saving Toothless! _Hiccup felt his entire mind devoid of all cares and fear. Everything was slipping out like a waterfall. It was reliving to have the emotions leave. No more fear, no more care. It all flowed like the morning breeze. It was relaxing unlike anything he had ever felt before.

Hiccup found his thoughts wavering once again from the lock. Again the determination to focus filled his mind and he threw the emotions at the cage door. With a great bang the door flew off of its hinges clattering to the floor. Hiccup felt himself pulling back together, as if he had been disassembled and then reassembled. His breathing staggered and he started to think clearly again. The haze around his mind vanished.

"Well, that was great, now can you please take your Dragon self over here and free me from your inability to control your power!"

Hiccup looked to the directing Burrows was, only to find that the bars to his cage had been bent in and the utterly door gone.

"What?"

"Under the bed! It was all I could do to not get skewered by the bars of death you moved!"

"The Guards?"

"Look for yourself"

An arm stuck out from the bars pointing in the direction of the Arena doors. The two guards had been pushed through the wall. Nothing had changed though, it was as if they just walked into the wall, and now they were stuck.

"They are dead now, as I will be if you don't hurry"

"Right!"

Hiccup pushed himself out of his cage and over to Burrows. With a large paw he used his claws to pull the bars, now detached from any solid object, out of the cell. One by one he threw the metal poles out of the way, freeing Burrows from under the chamber bed.

"Right, now to your friend. But first"

Burrows took one of the large poles and smacked the gladiator that had been tormenting him. He fell to the floor dazed and unconscious.

"That will teach him"

* * *

The sound of the crowd rattled the ground with their voices and intense energy. Thousands of seats circled a large pit where which Toothless assumed was the fighting arena. The exact place he was headed. Each seat was packed with humans of different color, size, and weight. Toothless thought about how piggish the human race was, then he thought of his Hiccup, now a dragon. It was right that way, Hiccup was growing up and the only way he would have done so was to be a dragon. The most fierce race, as dragons see it. Two guards walk Toothless to the starting room. The room was small, almost exactly perfect to fit his whole body and tail, but his wings where crammed and he could not stretch. A Large voice boomed again. "You can see that we have a dragon! But this is no ordinary dragon you see, this dragon is smart. Smarter than all of us combined!" The crowd laughed in disbelief. "You may laugh now but to show you we care about you're a safety we are locking the beasts wings so he will not fly." As if by cue the two guards took a leather looking harness and placed it on Toothless's back, two straps on both ends wrapped around his wings and fastened at the belly. Toothless tried to move his wings but the leather was strong, stronger than he had thought. It was imposable for him to remove his wings. To the normal dragon this would be a problem, but this was Toothless, the Night Fury. He did not need his wings to maneuver, he would be fine grounded to land.

Tension began to build as the crowed grew silent. Something was happening on the field and Toothless could not see what it could be. This angered him, he reached back to kick at the wall. Before he could do so however the metal bars slowly and silently slid open. Toothless waited for something to happen, but was only greeted with the silence of the crowd. This nerved Toothless, what had they seen? With caution Toothless peered out of the doorway that opened to the arena floor. Confusion filled him as all he could see was the arena as it was, nothing had changed, nothing was new. He walked out confident now and yet nothing happened. It was then that Toothless noticed the crowed. They were not looking at him, but in the air. High at the top of the arena where a large flag pointed to the stars. The sun blocked Toothless's gaze but he knew something was about to happen. The crowd gasped and pointed, this was when Toothless made his move. He dove to the right dodging a large Axe like weapon that would have crushed his skull. Its metal was as thick as Toothless's head and as wide also, the handle jetted out three yards from the dangerous end. He saw no owner to the weapon but it was too large for a normal human. Toothless jerked back as something landed on his back, he swerved and fell crushing whatever it was into the ground. Nothing was there however, just dirt. Toothless jumped up ready for another attack. He faced the weapon that had fell, but this time a person stood at the tip of the handle that was pointing to the sky. Whoever he was it was small, about five feet tall by Toothless's guess. Garbed in black the figure stood like a watching owl and made no move. Wherever Toothless turned however his gaze followed. Toothless could feel two dark eyes gazing through the dark shadowed hood.

Toothless made no move to attack, he needed none. As long as he stood still so did the strange person. "Five minutes" Boomed the announcer voice.

_There is a time limit!?_

Toothless looked back at the announcer box expecting an answer. Nothing came in reply so Toothless turned back to his opponent, but he was not there. Nothing was there, not even the weapon.

_What? I don't understand it was just-_

The ground shook as the large metal axe smashed at the ground slicing the tail fin membrane enough to cause pain, but not immobilize any future flying. Toothless screamed and flew forward as the weapon rose again, and fell again with bone shaking force. Toothless looked for his attacker vigorously and found him, although it was very unexpected. The stranger was at the middle of the arena a good six feet in the air. The weapon was not in his hands but seemed to follow his hand. The stranger pointed at Toothless's position, the weapon followed his gaze and flew at Toothless. Who in return jumped to the side attempting to raise his wings. They were locked. This was cheating and Toothless was cross, how did they expect him to fight a battle where which he could not win. This was wrong and all Toothless could do was defend himself from death.

The large axe swung at Toothless again but he was prepared. Toothless launched himself forward grasping the handle between his jaws. Still the weapon rose and fell, the strength of it was unnatural. Toothless rose with the weapon which turned causing him to face his enemy face to face. The Hooded figure stared back. A small dark red symbol glowed on the person cheek. Toothless was filled with fear, a dark memory rose to the forefront of his mind.

_That's imposable. I watched you die. How can you be alive! _


	12. Chapter 12 Another Magician

Chapter 12 :: Another Magician

-Toothless-

"Aww Toothless, It has been a long time. The last time we where together you where no taller than my hip" The strange man's words seemed to roll off the tip of his tongue with ease. Like he had prepared for this day. "Areo.. How can you be alive.. You died.. In the fire.." Areo chuckled low and deep. "I'm your creator, you think I would burn from a simple dragon fire?" Toothless gulped, with him here everyone was in danger. He needed to find Hiccup and escape as soon as possible. "Why are you here? Why now?" "Tisk Tisk, so many questions." Areo swung his hands in an annoyed fashion. "First of all I'm here to kill you, take back what you took from me. My lover." Areo snapped his fingers, his expression was of realization. "That's right! You have someone you care about here also. A specific Dragon, named Hiccup?" Toothless growled in frustration and terror, ready to tear at Areo's arms and legs. "You will not touch him!"

"But my dear Toothless, you killed my love, it is only right that I return the favor!" Areo hissed pushing his hand down. The large battle axe flew to the floor slamming Toothless down pinning him. "First I will rip his wings of and watch you wither as your Hiccup screams in pain!" Areo spat on Toothless and fell to the floor. Still pinned, Toothless watched as Areo left the arena blowing the gates open with a swing of his arm. Toothless was helpless, he could not move, act or protect his love. "Hiccup run! Leave me just Run PLEASE!" Toothless screamed but slowly his throat seemed to seize and he could not speak.

_Hiccup please, run. Don't try to help me I will find a way out. I don't want you to get hurt. Please! _

-Hiccup-

Burrows and Hiccup ran down the corridor halls toward the arena. It was still a good distance away but at the pace they were going they would be there soon. There pace had quicken when they heard the announcer speak of the first battle. It was going to be hard to escape when Toothless was restrained but they would manage. The plan was to retrieve Burrows staff, which was held in the armory close to the arena. It was ironic to Hiccup how close the two where to each other. Hiccup and Burrows jolted into a sprint when a large crack sound came from the arena. Something had just broke, and it was very large. "Your mate is ether really strong or is doing a very poor job." Burrows huffed. Hiccup hissed at the thought of Toothless losing. "He would never give up, nor would I. He saved my life once, no twice. I owe him." They took a sharp right turn entering into a garden. It was a beautiful sight, a marble stone fountain stood high in the middle of a small field of grass. Two large oak trees grew from either side, it was all well kept. Flowers of red, blue and white where dotted around the garden. Hiccup thought about how Toothless would love this place, its small but meaningful beauty. "Ya very Romantic, stop slowing down" Hiccup pulled himself away from the scene and wondered if Toothless and Him would ever be able to live in peace. He imagined them both living a long and loving life far on a distant island away from all humans and dragons alike. All alone for themselves.

Burrows jumped for joy when the Armory room came into view, they had tried many doors sense the garden but none of them held the staff Burrows needed to help save Toothless. "When we are done with this, I will make both you and your mate the happiest dragons on this earth." Hiccup wondered what Burrows meant by this, whatever it was he looked forward to the day when they would receive the gift. The armory room was large, weapons of all types where stacked on the floor and hung on the walls. It would be hard to find the staff in a place like this. A red bead in a pile of millions of white would be easier. "I know what you're thinking, but it will be easier than you think, I just have to get close to my staff and I can call it to my hand." "How will that work?" Hiccup assumed it would require magic, but the staff was the thing that channeled the energy. "As long as I am close I can control the flow of power. I still have a lot to teach you about magic, years of information and that's only the start." Burrows slid down a ladder to the lower half of the Armory room, his hands fumbled over small, large, tall, thick and all other types of deadly spears, axes and swords. Hiccup also began to look but he honestly had no idea what it would look like so he just seemed to browse the inventory for interesting things. Once and a while he would find a sharp sword with strange writing on the blade, he would wonder what it had been through. The battles it had seen.

The craftsmanship of the weapons varied from poor to superior and expert. Some even reminded him of his own work when working with metal. Although this was long in the past, he still wondered if it was his or how it had even come to this place. "Try this on" Burrows tossed a large slab of concaved metal to Hiccups feet. "How?" Hiccup pushed it around in question of what to do with it. "Your head, I think it will fit your head, it has that shape you know." Hiccup nodded and flipped the helmet over, practically upside down. Hiccup placed the top of his head to the floor where the helmet lay, it seemed to fit perfectly around his large head shape. When he lifted it however the weight surprised him. "How do I look?" Burrows threw a stack of spears to the side and glanced at Hiccup. "Looks like a piece of metal, it will keep your head safe though" He resumed his digging. Hiccup liked the helmet and wondered what Toothless would think when he saw them. A warrior dragon thought Hiccup.

"Found it!" Burrows said with joy. "Where?" Hiccup jumped to the lower floor avoiding the sharp blades. "About two feet deep under all this junk." He pointed straight down below his feet. "I'm going to try to bring it to me, you might want to step back." Burrows pointed his hand. Hiccup watched as he concentrated on pulling the staff to the surface. Slowly the pile of metal began to shift and slide, rising a little as if something was trying to get out. Hiccup noticed that on Burrows cheek a symbol began to glow blue. It was strange and unknown to him but he wondered what it meant. The staff was a dark cherry red with a small jagged blue stone at the top. Hiccup was surprised at the color and shape, he had imagined the staff differently. Whatever shape or size as long as it did what it was meant to do Hiccup was happy.

"Burrows" a slick voice came from the entry way. Burrows stood still. "Areo" Areo let out a sly smile. "You remember me?" "How could I ever forget, traitor." Burrows spat at the floor in disgust. "Why are you hear Areo!" Burrows was angry, Hiccup only watched this strange quarrel. Whatever it was he did not want to be involved. "I'm here for the dragon, he is my revenge tool" Burrows grabbed his staff and stepped in front of Hiccup. "Not while I'm here you don't, I won't let you use him for anything." Areo gave a low laugh, his eyes where covered by a black hood. He tossed it back revealing his face. Areo was small, about five feet tall. His face was strangely altered from what looked like burns of some kind. His eyes where dark with evil, the color of which Hiccup knew not. Only a small pigtail of hair was attached to his head. "Looking good as ever, are we?" Burrows chuckled at his small worded jab. Areo sneered at his comment. "I am taking the dragon." Areo hissed. "Over my dead body!" Burrows stood at the ready, preparing for an attack. "We will see" Areo thrust his hand to the side and Burrows followed. He slammed against the wall falling on a stack of bows and crossbows. He then pointed at a large pile of bolts swinging his arm pointing at Hiccup. "No!" Burrows yelled slightly dazed.

Hiccup prepared for the end, thousands of bolts had been lifted into the air and hurtled toward him. The weapons at his feet and bent to hold his feet in place so that he could not move. There was nothing for him to do. The only thing that came to mind was Toothless and what had happened to him. All Hiccup cared about was Toothless's safety. The idea of Toothless being free calmed Hiccup of his upcoming fate, as long as Toothless was safe he could die happy. He did not want to die though, but if he could he would with a smile. H thought of the night they had many times before. The love they shared. His heart began to beat heavily in remembering as the blood rushed to his cheeks at the personal parts. He loved Toothless with every fiber of his body and he would do anything to protect him. They where mates, not officially obviously but in their minds they where a joined couple.

"What!" Areo's screams made Hiccup open his eyes in wonder. To his surprise Areo was forcing his hand forward, the bolts he had controlled stopped inches from Hiccups body. "Hiccup it's the helmet!" Burrows yelled in relief. The helmet was glowing a dark blue. "I thought it was more than just a piece of junk, its ancient magic. Not even Areo can fight against it." Areo screamed in frustration. "If I can't have you, than I will take the next best thing!" Areo rushed down the hall to the arena, his robe flapping behind him. "Hiccup go after him, there is no doubt that he is meaning Toothless, protect him! I will be right behind you!"

-Toothless-

Toothless bit the handle of the large axe as hard as he could trying to break the hard wood. With no luck he became very angry. The crowed was still watching eagerly, Toothless did not know why though. The fight was over, the opponent had left what could they possibly want to see now. The announcers where the amusement of Toothless for a few minutes. There control of the arena had gone to the wind and now they were trapped no way of escaping. All thanks to Areo. _Oh Areo _

Toothless reached back deep in his memory, remembering the day when he came to the world. The very beginning.

"_It's time my dear Night Fury, for once I will do something right." Areo the lesser stretched his hands over the dark pool of black. His mouth shifting to different positions speaking a language not known to all. The pool of black began to rise in the middle forming the shape of a small dark figure. Its body resembled that of a lizard, wings so small stretched from its back, a tail was grown with two fins attached to the end. The liquid bubbled as slowly the figure began to take features. The arms where topped with paws, the head reminded Areo of a salamander. "Live my child" Reaching deep within himself Areo pulled part of his sole apart and gave it to the form. Life sprung to the creature like a flame. Gasping for breath Areo collapsed on the floor in exhaustion, this magic had taken a large amount of concentration. Making a living thing was above his experience and took a large amount of energy. _

Toothless moaned in pain as the weapon pushed harder against his chest. This was getting annoying to Toothless he needed to escape and try to help Hiccup but nothing he did worked. It was then than Toothless saw something he never expected. Areo was running at Toothless as fast as he could robes flapping behind him. This was not what surprised Toothless, it was the fear on his face that made him wonder. Areo pulled the large weapon into the air jamming Toothless to the far side of the arena in the process. It was then on the floor that Toothless saw Hiccup rush through the gate of the stadium and bolt towards Areo. Toothless's heart jumped for joy at the sight of his lover and he tried to stand but his muscles would not respond. Something was stopping him. _Areo! _Toothless tried to speak but the hold on his words still grasped him. Toothless watched as Hiccup charged Areo head first. _Be careful Hiccup, you have no Idea how strong he is._

-Hiccup-

Areo was in Hiccups sights, a large mace like weapon was lifted in the air by his magic. Hiccup dodged left and right as it slammed into the floor with brutal force. Hiccup dove at Areo in anger tackling him to the ground. With inhuman strength Areo lifted Hiccup in the sky with his hands throwing him a good three yards away. Hiccup slammed into the floor the air rushing out of his lungs. Hiccup saw Toothless in the distance on the other side of the death pit and sighed in relief. _At least you are safe. _Hiccup rolled to dodge another attack from the large mace. It slammed into the floor harder than before. Hiccup heard a crack of metal only dragon ears could hear. This would mean that the weapon was soon to shatter and could cause a large amount of shrapnel. Hiccup rushed at Areo again, this time jumping to take the advantage. Areo did not expect this maneuver and fell in surprise. Hiccups jaws locked on Areo's leg blood seeped through Hiccups teeth and he squeezed harder. _Never try to hurt my Toothless again! _Areo screamed in pain jabbing the pole of the mace into Hiccups face. Its wood handle caused sharp pains and bruised his skull. Blood slipped down his face. At the breaking point Hiccup released his hold, gasping for air and whimpering in pain.

Hiccup limped to a far corner away from Areo who had now recovered and healed himself with his magic. The mace came down at an alarming rate and then stopped before smashing into the floor in front of Hiccup. Burrows stood at the gateway his staff glowing blue with what Hiccup assumed was his magic. Toothless rushed to Hiccups side now released by the magic. "Hiccup!" Toothless crooned in worry. "It's just my head, its fine.. really" Hiccup was dazed and it hurt to concentrate on anything. Toothless came to Hiccups side pulling his head close to Toothless's chest. His barbed tongue removed the streams of blood from Hiccups forehead. "We have to fight Toothless" Hiccup tried to pull away but Toothless's grasp on him was too strong. "It's already over, your friend chased him off" Toothless purred. "I don't understand, I just got knocked down, Burrows just got here. How could he have won already."

Toothless looked into Hiccups eyes with worry. "Hiccup it's been over for almost an hour." Hiccup tried to think back but again a throbbing pain stabbed his mind. _Did that tie really pass so fast? _Hiccup was puzzled but whatever happened he was with Toothless now. Back in his arms, his loving warm arms and vibrant chest. This was where he belonged, all he wanted. It soothed his thoughts and warmed his heart. _I just want this all over, to be alone with you._ Hiccup lounged in Toothless's arms enjoying his hold.


	13. Chapter 13 A Long Goodbye

Chapter 13 :: A Long Goodbye

-Toothless-

"So you helped Hiccup Escape? In addition, you both are friends... And somehow you know Areo?" "Exactly" Burrows had been with Toothless in the cave alone for most of the day explaining his standings. They had gone over the magic he has and the moments with Hiccup. To Toothless Burrows was a threat, but he had helped his Hiccup escape and that was the important part. Thinking back Toothless liked Burrows as a person but it was the fact that he could use magic that roused his suspicions. Magic had always made Toothless slightly unnerved, unless he was the one performing it himself. It was the lack of control, not the idea of having things happen when they should not. Toothless was a controlling Dragon, as Hiccup had already found during their moments in Berk. So when Toothless was out of control he became protective and cautious. Burrows was a good person as Toothless found, his heart was true, and he had the correct state of mind. Toothless was at ease to leave Hiccup in Burrows care, it was the only way He would be safe. Thinking about the days to come Toothless knew the plan and had to execute. Burrows told of a place where magic grew like grass and was equally easy to control. This was where Toothless would fight Areo for the last time. Where he would end this lifelong quarrel, they had. Areo would never stop hunting them now, and Toothless knew this in his heart. His Hiccup would not be safe against someone like this, even though they were able to fend him off this time. It was decided. Toothless would leave them to find and remove Areo from their lives. After that, they would all meet in Burrows homeland and live a fulfilling life together. As was the plan.

Toothless spent most of his time with Hiccup, laying next to him and holding him. It was the last day they would be together until Areo was dead. Toothless wanted to saver every second, each minuet with him seemed to give Toothless the urge to get this over with and leave. It was hard to think about just walking away.

On the day they had designated to leave, Burrows came to Toothless slightly concerned. "I'm going to run through the directions one more time. Getting lost will not help you in any way shape or form in that land." "Obviously" Toothless's tone was slightly annoyed, but this was expected of someone who was about to leave something he loved. "You will start from this cave out North; from there you will find a river nice and large very dark water. Follow it up stream to a lake. From there head over the mountains, you will know which one. You will be right at a big body of water." Toothless let out a disappointed sigh. "What did I say something wrong?" Toothless glanced over to Burrows. "No, it's just another sea… They are the worst to fly over." Burrows and Toothless chuckled together. Silence followed and Burrows was the one to break it. "There is something else isn't there?" Toothless stopped whatever he was doing and just stood there, his legs where shaking and Burrows had an Idea of why. "Tell me Toothless, I may not be a friend of yours but I am a good talker." Burrows said jokingly. Toothless sat on the floor, folded his tail in, and sighed deeper than before. "It's just the thought of leaving him. I don't want to." "Then don't, it was your choice you know." "I can't! I have to go." "Then I guess I'm not sure what you are getting at." Burrows sat next to Toothless at the lip of the cave. The day was new and the smell of the clean are was to die for. The sun seemed to make the forest glow with life, the trees swayed in time and the sounds of the forest made a song that would sooth any dragon to hibernation. "I don't think I can do this Burrows. You are a good person and all, but I am just. I don't know how to say it." Toothless was fumbling with his paws. "You're scared" Toothless turned and stared wide eyed at Burrows. A Dragon is not scared; a dragon is never scared. Toothless was spiking with anger at the humans comment, but his anger subsided as he realized it was true. He was scared. Scared about leaving, he had no control over what would happen to Hiccup and this frightened him beyond anything he had ever thought of. Hiccup would be alone, in a land far away and Toothless would not be there to protect him in any way. The ability to connect over the mental link they had first had in Berk was long gone after the Arena and the gladiators. The ability seemed to never recover.

"It's ok you know, being scared. It's human" "That's not what I'm getting at..." "I know what you're getting at Toothless, you're afraid that you will not know what happens to Hiccup when he is with me. You have no control over what happens when he is with me or even away from you and this bothers you. You don't trust me and that makes it even worse." Toothless kept his head down; he knew Burrows would take offence to this. It surprised Toothless however, that Burrows was smart enough to read what Toothless was thinking. "I would do the same." This surprised Toothless and his attention was completely on Burrows now. "I would not trust myself ether, I'm just some guy who Hiccup found at the arena. I could very well be leading Hiccup to his death. But don't you think you should give him a chance to be himself? If not than think about what will happen if you don't go. Areo will find you and most likely use Hiccup against you. He will kill you both Toothless. His dark heart will not forget what happened years ago at your conception. You have to just trust me." Again, the silence followed as Toothless let everything sink into place. He was right about many things. Areo would find him and kill them both if the job was not done. "I have a gift; it should keep your fears down about leaving him." Burrows reached into one of his pockets and pulled out a leather band of sorts. It looked old and very flimsy, but it was the perfect shape to fit around Toothless's front paw perfectly. "It's embedded with magic; it will enhance your connection with Hiccup. Also repairing it somewhat. You will be able to feel him from wherever you are. Unless you are a good thousand feet deep, underground then the connection gets a little bad. It does on your paw." Burrows helped Toothless snap the band around his wrist, lacing the straps together holding it snug in place. When the last strap was tied, Toothless could feel something aside from himself. It was not thoughts but it was definitely Hiccup. "It's his Emotions, that's all I could do. The strap will hold, also thanks to magic" Toothless could understand it now, the waves of color and strange shapes made sense. A nice blue mellow tone filled Toothless, he must be content and at ease. Toothless peered over his shoulder glancing at Hiccup. He was still asleep. "You will take care of him." Toothless said softly. "To Death Toothless, I would give him my life. I owe him that." Toothless nudged Burrows. "Thank you." "Anything for a friend Toothless, anything."

The moments that followed where painful but easier than before knowing that he was connected to Hiccup. This made leaving easier but still a challenge. At his last goodbyes when everything was packed and ready to go. Toothless walked over to Hiccup and kissed him. It would be the last connection they would have physically for a long time so it lasted a good minute or two. Toothless awed and enjoyed the change in Hiccups emotions, if only he where awake this would be even better Toothless thought. Giving one last hug Toothless whispered something in Hiccups ear.

"I will always be here Hiccup; don't think any differently about me. I love you so much that I have to go. I am doing this for you. I love you so much Hiccup"

Toothless said his goodbyes to Burrows and leaped from the lip of the cave soaring to the air making multiple turns around the cave location to gain height for the long journey ahead. This would pose new threats and new problems, but Toothless was ready to take on the world.

Burrows stood at the lip of the cave and yelled to Toothless "I forgot to mention, whatever you do don't-" His words where ripped away from the wind and Toothless's wings filled with an updraft pushing him forward. Whatever he was saying it would have to wait and he would have to face it head on. The new day was ahead of Toothless and nothing could stop his quest to find and remove Areo from this world.

**Toothless and Hiccups story will **

**Continue in**

"_Night At Dawn**"**_

* * *

**A Note From The Writer**

Hey everyone now I know what you may be thinking. "Why, why would you end it here!?" and I will give you a good answer. Number one I want a fresh start on this new lead. I took a story from not being finished and I'm expanding to a point where its crazy. I want to start the second story with just me if you understand. I love the story and writing it is even better. I have had tons of Ideas and Thoughts, plans and dreams with this story and its safe to say that I'm not officially done yet. I'm just closing one door and opening another. My thoughts about where this story can go are very big and I hope for the best. I want all of you to know that the First chapter to _"Night At Dawn"_ will be out shortly as it is the introduction.

Again thank you for your comments and please follow along and keep giving your thoughts, Ideas, and suggestions.

-Tomodachi Aisuru


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